(by Karma Loveday) Supply outages in Kent over the late May bank holiday prompted MPs to pile in with ideas on what more the Government should do to safeguard supplies for residents over summer. Water minister Emma Hardy was asked an Urgent Question in Parliament on South East Water (SEW) last week, given the latest supply problems are the third serious outage for the company since Christmas. Regional MPs lined up to seek assurance there will be no further repeats, and especi

(by Karma Loveday) Waterscan’s founder and chief executive Neil Pendle has taken up a non-executive director role at the company. Barry Millar has stepped up as interim chief executive. He is a long-standing member of the Waterscan team and has performed roles including operations director. Northumbrian Water has opened registration for its annual Innovation Festival, which celebrates ten years this year. Newcastle Racecourse will play host on 6-9 July, and this year’s theme

(by Karma Loveday) Defra has reported that environmental regulators are now meeting or exceeding key planning timeliness targets – giving developers greater certainty and helping infrastructure projects move faster. Provisional results showed that in 2025/26, the Environment Agency (EA) responded to 98% of planning consultations on time (up from 88%), while Natural England handled 95% of major infrastructure applications within agreed timescales. The EA’s Priority Tracked Ser

(by Karma Loveday) Over half of customers would welcome a tariff that incentivises water saving. That’s according to this month’s Water Voice consumer panel research from the Consumer Council for Water (CCW). Water Voice is made up of 16 regional consumer panels, one for each water company in England and Wales, with around 50 customers serving as panellists on each. Each month, CCW tracks customer sentiment against consistent questions, and does a ‘spotlight survey’ on a spe

(by Karma Loveday) Defra and the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) last week published the latter’s long-delayed annual report and accounts for 2023/24 and 2024/25. The delay was a result of an inquiry by the National Audit Office (NAO) into CCW’s internal control and financial regularity. This tracked back to a single issue about the organisation’s operation of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) services through its subsidiary, CCW Trading Company. These mediation and adjud

(by Verity Mitchell) Ofwat has confirmed the £44m enforcement order against Welsh Water. This final decision follows consultation after the announcement on 12 March, that Welsh Water breached its legal obligations to adequately maintain and upgrade its wastewater network and treatment plants. Ofwat concluded that the senior management and board had failed to ensure that the assets were performing satisfactorily. There had been insufficient monitoring processes and oversight i

(by Verity Mitchell) South West Water (SWW) was fined at Exeter Magistrates' Court on 2 June following a prosecution by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI). The company pleaded guilty to an offence under section 70(1) of the Water Industry Act 1991, which requires water companies to supply water that is wholesome and fit for human consumption. On 15 May 2024, SWW first confirmed that traces of cryptosporidium had been found in its water supply network. The court heard that

(by Karma Loveday) Andy Burnham has indicated that as Labour leader, he would impose stronger public control over the water industry as well as energy and transport, using a pragmatic approach. Speaking to Newsnight on Friday, he suggested that the Government could step in using a “spectrum of interventions” – from tougher regulation to full public ownership – depending on the situation. “I’ve not used the word nationalisation because that allows a more pragmatic approach, be

(by Karma Loveday) Welsh Water has lifted for all customers the precautionary boil water notice imposed in parts of Rhondda Cynon Taf. This followed an issue with the Maerdy water treatment works. Moody’s has affirmed the Baa1 Corporate Family Rating of Anglian Water and the Baa1 backed and underlying senior secured debt ratings of its financing subsidiary Anglian Water Services Financing. The outlook on both entities remains stable. Moody’s said the action followed the Compe

(by Verity Mitchell) Southern Water has secured agreement from RAPID to move the Gate 4 submission date for its Hampshire Water Transfer and Water Recycling Project (HWTWRP) back to July from May. It said in its request letter to RAPID that allowing more time will enable further refinement of the project to reduce its impact on local communities and minimise consenting risk. These matters could cause later delays if not addressed sufficiently prior to application for a Develo