Other stories from last week

(by Karma Loveday)

Thames Water has invited three consortia to tender for the construction of the White Horse Reservoir in Oxfordshire: 

• WFH JV: comprising Webuild (JV leader), Hyundai Engineering and Construction and FCC Construccion.   

• BMV+: Bouygues Travaux Publics (JV leader), J. Murphy & Sons and VolkerFitzpatrick  

• BBV: Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering (JV leader) and VINCI Construction Grands Projets

As the Main Works Contractor, the successful bidder will design, build, test and commission the reservoir under a £5.7bn contract. The consortia will tender by Spring 2027, and Thames expects to award the contract in Autumn 2027.

South West Water has received the largest-ever fine doled out for environmental offences in its area: £7.8m, in a case brought by the Environment Agency for hundreds of sewage spills between January 2015 and July 2021 in six locations across Cornwall and Devon: Bodmin, Harlyn, Playing Place, Polperro and Plymouth. The judge repeatedly found that the company’s conduct amounted to reckless failures in management systems and response to known risks. 

In a new Operational statement, Natural England said it will focus its attention on planning proposals which present the greatest risks or opportunities for nature, rather than spreading itself thin across lots of consultations where established guidance already exists. The change is designed to allow the regulator to prioritise complex and strategic cases and engage earlier in the planning process, while fulfilling its statutory duties to protect nature.

Ofwat is consulting until 20 October on a draft decision to accept undertakings from Albion Water relating to an enforcement investigation into whether the company has managed its wastewater treatment works and network appropriately. This found licence, legislation and regulation breaches. The undertakings set out how Albion will return to compliance, plus details of a proposed shareholder-funded redress measure valued at £97,150 – the size of the financial penalty that Ofwat would otherwise have imposed. Ofwat said the redress measure “will deliver a better outcome for customers and the environment by establishing a rainwater harvesting scheme with a local community institution that will reduce local mains water use by enabling use of recycled water and raise awareness locally regarding the issue of water scarcity”.

Everflow, the SME-focused multi-utility provider, was one of 150 companies named from a field of 8,000 in the inaugural Financial Times UK’s Fastest Growing Companies 2027 report. It was one of only seven firms from the energy and utilities sector to make the cut. Everflow reported revenue growth of 37% in 2025, profitability growth of 44%, a customer base exceeding 120,000, and a team of over 230 people. 

The non-household market’s Strategic Panel has appointed Nina White, Thames Water’s director of income, as a wholesaler member on its board. 

WaterAid and social enterprise Belu have celebrated raising £6.5m during a 15-year partnership. Belu commits 100% of its net profits to the charity.