Water networks

Rural residents blighted by rats in their water supply

People living in rural communities are forced to deal with rats, tadpoles and brown bath water on a daily basis because they are not connected to a mains water supply, MPs have heard. The blight of rural communities was raised in a Westminster Hall debate in which the government came under fire for failing to support those living in properties without a water mains connection. MP Simon Clarke proposed new legislation and called on Defra to fund connections in exceptional circumstances.

Ofwat seeks net zero innovations

Where will England’s next reservoirs be?

Armitt: Water sector has a lot of catching up to do

Helm: Breaking up Thames would be a good start

Economist Dieter Helm has proposed dividing beleaguered Thames into two public limited companies with simplified ownership to improve management and prevent financial engineering. The sector's long-term critic also took Ofwat to task for not taking steps to strip poorly-performing companies of their licences and proposed reverting to the single-company structures of the original privatised companies.

Government ‘hellbent’ on removing environmental protections

Three quarters of businesses have inadequate water meters

Three quarters of business water customers are not adequately metered, with 10% having no meter. Only 25% of businesses have internal meters, which have the highest level of reporting accuracy, while 65% of business meters are external.

£20m pipeline to boost water security in Essex

A water transfer project to move 50 megalitres of water between treatment sites in Essex has begun work to bolster resilience of supplies in the region. Raw supplies will be able to move from a reservoir to both treatment plants to better exploit treatment capacity. Essex and Suffolk is investing £20million in the scheme, which will serve 370,000 customers.

UK water security at risk

Hosepipe ban to end after 14 months

We need to rethink our relationship with water

Water UK: Misleading sewage claims help no one

Thames to replace sewage pipe after multiple bursts

Three-quarters of Brits cut water use in July

Don’t kick the can down the road on smart water metering