River Summit doubts re-nationalisation costs and demands water leadership

(by Verity Mitchell)

Attendees at the River Summit & Festival in Henley last week made their passions and frustrations on river quality clear during lively debates involving local MPs and representatives of the Environment Agency, Ofwat and Wildlife and Countryside Link.

Many were unconvinced by official cost estimates for re-nationalisation, particularly the financial obligations to bondholders. There was widespread disappointment that more radical solutions were not available to fix failing companies, including Thames Water – and that there are seemingly no precise environmental standards that can trigger companies being placed into special administration.

There was a widespread assumption that water company indebtedness was a key problem, and that if the debt service element of bills could somehow be set aside, there would be more funds released for investment. However, a delegate from Northern Ireland pointed out that perhaps ownership structures were not the key problem, given that Northern Ireland’s water is state owned but has similar (if not even more challenging) environmental problems.

There were updates from Ofwat and 23Red on the progress of the Water Efficiency Campaign and presentations on mapping and monitoring of rivers. In addition to water companies there were many citizen scientists present.

What emerged from the conference was a strong desire to harness local community engagement with water, and to develop much wider sharing of data. Partnerships and openness would help to improve the quality of rivers, the River Summit heard.

It was government, though, that delegates urged to take the lead. As one put it: “Hope [for improvement] is not a strategy.” What united all attendees, whether employed in the industry or keen volunteers, was the view that a clear strategic statement from government on the way to improve river quality was needed in order to precipitate further positive action.