Other stories from last week

(by Karma Loveday)

The King’s Speech last week included provision for a Clean Water Bill to reform the water industry. Campaigners have urged for the legislation to be progressed with urgency and deliver meaningful change. 

The Environment Agency has published its 2026-27 business plan, setting out its planned priorities for the year. Water quality and environmental pollution feature alongside other issues including waste crime and flood risk.

As the 2026 bathing water season started on 15 May, the Environment Agency announced 13 new designated bathing sites had opened across the country, including London’s first site on the River Thames, at Ham and Kingston. There are now over 460 designated bathing waters in total. 

Scottish Water has announced the seven companies it will work with in joint enterprise between 2027 and 2033 to transform its water and wastewater infrastructure. Stantec and Aecom are the primary designers, with M Group, RSE, Mott MacDonald Bentley, Farrans and WGM Engineering as asset delivery partners. 

Ofwat has announced that the second round of the Water Efficiency Lab competition will focus on reducing customer-side leakage. This will open for entries on 3 August, with £5m available in total.

Portsmouth Water is to begin a three-year programme of work to lay two pipelines at Havant Thicket – one to fill the reservoir with spring water, and the other to take it out when it is needed. This marks a major milestone in the project’s development.  

Ofwat has published guidance rationalising the process for Thames Water to access the PR24 gated allowance for asset health improvement. Ofwat will combine gates 2 and 3, and replace gates 4 and 5 with a Price Control Deliverable, delivery plan reporting and quarterly meetings. The changes are in line with Independent Water Commission recommendations for simpler and more proportionate regulation.

MOSL has reported that 92% of trading parties scored it 4 or above on a scale of 1-5 for overall performance. That rating also applied to its delivery of core services, but a lower proportion (72%) scored MOSL 4 or above for improvement programmes. The market operator said the “Market Performance Framework remains the most sensitive area, with ongoing concern around fairness, accountability and impacts”.

Defra has appointed Kate Gibson and Rachel Danemann to the Natural England board for three-year terms, both of which commenced on 1 May 2026 and will run until 30 April 2029. Gibson will also serve as deputy chair. Professor Lynn Dicks was reappointed for a second term, until 28 April 2029. The appointments follow the recent or imminent departures of Peter Unwin, Kim Shillinglaw, Melanie Austen and Caroline Spelman.

Three members of the Environment Agency board have had their second terms extended by 18 months. Ines Faden da Silva, Stewart Davies, and Lilli Matson will each continue in post from 1 August 2026 until 31 January 2028.