Ruth Williams

Chris Whitty says sewerage legislation overlooks health

England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty has called out MPs for overlooking human health issues when drafting legislation relating to sewerage. Whitty called for a refocus on health within wastewater legislation, which is currently framed around environmental targets.

Everflow management acquires majority stake

London mayor commits £10m to cut dig disruption

Anglian lays out £27m sewerage overhaul

Anglian Water has announced plans for a £27 million upgrade to water and sewerage infrastructure in Peterborough including £10 million on storm tanks to increase storage capacity in the network. The company said it is part of a £100 million spending drive to grow capacity across its region in the east of England to relieve the use of storm overflows during times of heavy rainfall.

Strikes loom at Thames and Scottish Water

Industrial action is on the horizon at both Scottish Water and Thames Water following disputes about pay. Workers at Scottish have already voted overwhelmingly to strike, while Thames workers are due to vote on a final pay offer negotiated with union bosses. GMB – which represents workers at both water companies – said that it doesn't think a better deal can be achieved through further negotiations with Thames Water, and a union spokesperson added that strike action is likely to follow if members vote against the deal.

Environment Agency vows to ramp up water checks

The Environment Agency will transform how it regulates the water sector by “significantly” increasing its inspections to ensure compliance by companies. Chair of the organisation, Alan Lovell, said the regulator will be investing in "new specialist officers, data and tools which will significantly increase the time we are able to spend on regulating the water industry”.

Ofwat flags financial concerns with half of water companies

Spending on waterways is ‘skewed’ towards CSOs

Davy: CSOs weren’t talked about five years ago

Flexibility in water regulation is required to ensure companies can react to evolving consumer expectations such as sewer overflows, Susan Davy, head of Pennon has argued. She noted that overflows, which politicians and regulators made an investment priority for water and sewerage companies, were not being talked about five years ago when plans for PR19 were being made.

Thames ring-fences extra £500k for vulnerability support

Thames is dedicating £500k through its Trust Fund initiative to support financially vulnerable households in London and the Thames Valley. This includes £400k in grants to debt and money advice services across the region and £100k to a household pot that customer service employees can direct billpayers to.