Russell: Don’t ‘hide behind regulation’ on CSO action

Water companies should not wait until the next price review period to make improvements to their sewerage networks nor “hide behind regulation” when there are changes to be made now, John Russell has said.

The Ofwat senior director, speaking at the Utility Week Wastewater Treatment Conference this week, called on companies to urgently examine their monitoring and maintenance of wastewater networks and assets to prioritise work where failures are causing harm.

The recently published Water Quality in Rivers report made a series of recommendations for companies, regulators and other sectors to jointly improve existing processes that led to a decline in river health, particularly around combined sewer overflows (CSOs). Russell said Ofwat will fully review the proposals made in the Environmental Audit Committee’s report but urged the sector not to wait to enact changes that could be made sooner.

“In the immediate term, companies have the ability and the resources available to make an impact now. They know what their obligations are, what is the right thing to do, and it isn’t acceptable to hide behind regulation or say they can’t do anything until the next price review,” Russell said.

Responding to pollution concerns raised by the report, Russell said companies must be “timely, accessible and transparent”, which he added was not always the case: “Too often the response has been silence.”

The draft methodology for the 2024 price review, expected to be published in July, will provide regulatory clarity to help companies plan for the long term.

The regulator previously asked the sector to view five-year price review periods as building blocks within longer term plans.

“PR24 will enable the sector to do more as we look to face a range of challenges. It is critical that we continue to accelerate transformation whilst keeping the impacts to the environment to a minimum. For example, there is great opportunity for companies to harness the power of renewable energy in wastewater, but this is something we have yet to see more on,” Russell said of Ofwat’s expectations.

Initial signals from Ofwat and Defra’s draft strategic policy statement for PR24 have emphasised the need to use nature-based solutions and sustainable drainage to keep surface water out of the sewer network. It also called for joined up engagement to educate customers about how household habits such as not disposing of wipes properly impacts the network.

Russell added it will be important to see a change in companies’ culture and commitment to demonstrate they are paying greater attention to tackling environmental problems associated with CSOs and improving transparency and stakeholder engagement.