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Ofwat chairman Jonson Cox has claimed the water sector is falling “woefully short” on restoring the country’s rivers to a healthy state.
Speaking at Utility Week’s Investor Summit last week, Cox said that the issue could overtake leakage as the principal concern for the public about water company performance.
“I worry that just as we get on top of leakage as the number one public issue, concern about the state of our rivers may overtake it as a source of public outrage.
“This at a time when the legitimacy of the sector is still questioned, even following last December’s convincing Conservative win. Questions are still being asked about the appropriateness of private ownership.”
At the last count, 14 per cent of rivers in England (and the borders of Wales and Scotland) met the minimum “good” status within the EU Water Framework directive. The Environment Agency’s target is 75 per cent by 2027.
Cox said planning to tackle climate change and population growth was now a “new norm” for the industry.
He praised the efforts of the water companies, in collaboration with trade body Water UK, in committing to decarbonise by 2030 as part of its five public commitments.
However, he cautioned: “It’s sobering to think we only have 10 years in which to do the huge amount of work required to achieve that goal. And real progress needs to be seen in the first five of those. It’s no good waiting until the last five years.”
Last week, Mott MacDonald and Ricardo, the consultants advising Water UK and the companies, set out some of the possible paths to net zero by 2030.
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