The Department for Business and Trade has said it wants to stimulate competition within the water sector through streamlined regulation as well as delegating some of Ofwat's powers around the non-domestic market.
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Environmental regulation in Wales came under fire from politicians at a select committee hearing where witnesses described a cultural aversion to enforcement at Natural Resources Wales. The organisation's CEO said prosecution indicated regulation had failed and did not benefit the environment.
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The government is considering fundamental changes to the regulatory appeals process for water companies. This includes the possibility of moving away from a complete redetermination of company business plan submissions in favour of appealing specific aspects - to mirror the regime for energy.
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South West Water’s £125 million plans to deliver two desalination plants have been pushed back to next year. Speaking to Utility Week, South West Water chief executive Susan Davy confirmed that the plants would not be delivered this year as previously slated. Davy was speaking after South West's parent company Pennon announced an 85% drop in half-year pre-tax profits.
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Ofwat's chair and chief executive both told a House of Commons committee that the proposed £100 million water efficiency fund would not be sufficient to stop people using as much water. Answering questions on resilience of supplies, Black said getting major infrastructure projects off the ground was a problem, but something Ofwat and other stakeholders are focused on.
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Colum Goodchild, director of asset strategy at Aqua Consultants, argues water companies must do more with less and work closely with local communities and other stakeholders to manage assets effectively, tackle environmental issues, and rebuild faith in the sector.
Opinion
South East Water is subject to an Ofwat investigation to assess whether it failed to develop and maintain an efficient water supply system. The heatwave followed by freezing temperatures in the winter left customers with low or no pressure and caused the company to have the sector's worst performance for interruptions.
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Welsh Water has been called out by Ofwat’s chief executive David Black for being “far less ambitious” than English water companies on reducing total spills from sewer overflows. Black said that the regulator was concerned that Welsh Water "don’t really have a plan that’s going to deliver meaningful reductions by 2030.”
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A Devonshire council is pushing to have South West Water excluded as a consultee on planning applications within its jurisdiction. A motion, approved by Torridge District Council, calls on central government to block South West Water from future consultations on the grounds that the company does not adequately engage in the process. Instead, the council is calling for an independent organisation to be appointed to oversee how water supplies and wastewater networks would be impacted by new developments.
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Join our forthcoming webinar to learn about the latest tools and techniques for upgrading and maintaining pipework and meeting sustainability targets as part of adaptation to climate change.
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Thames Water should have been better prepared for disruption caused by Storm Ciaran, CCW has said, after thousands of homes were left without water. More than a dozen schools were unable to open on Monday (6 November) with an estimated 12,000 homes cut off due to ongoing problems with Thames' Shalford treatment centre.
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Network operators have reconnected more than 130,000 properties after Storm Ciaran tore through the south of the country. Figures released by the Energy Networks Association (ENA) reveal that more than 147,000 properties experienced some form of power cut during the storm which recorded winds of up to 104mph.
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Water suppliers fear the public storm around PFAS could match that seen for CSOs. Lucinda Dann explores the industry’s key concerns around this emerging contaminant.
Analysis
Southern Water is making a fund available to businesses across its region to encourage innovative ways to cut water usage. The Business Partnership Fund, worth £150,000, will be open to water retailers as well as non-household customers as a grant to kickstart novel ways of saving water resources.
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An influential House of Lords committee has called for an overhaul of how the water sector is regulated following accusations of a catalogue of failures by Ofwat and the government over many years. Lord Hollick, who chairs the Industry and Regulators Committee, said investment has fallen far short of what is needed due to a combination of “weak regulation and incompetent government leadership”, while Lord Whitty insisted there was a need to “start again with regulation”.
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