Overview

• The National Audit Office (NAO) report finds that water regulators and the government have failed to provide a trusted and resilient water sector since privatisation in 1989.
• Public trust in the water industry has hit an all-time low, while households face double-digit bill increases over the next five years to fund overdue infrastructure improvements.
• The report reveals that at the current pace of asset replacement, it would take 700 years to renew the water mains, underscoring decades of underinvestment.
• A lack of coherent national planning and fragmented oversight among Ofwat, the Environment Agency, and the Drinking Water Inspectorate has hindered effective regulation and environmental protection.
• New criminal penalties for concealing sewage spills are now in effect, and the Independent Water Commission, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, is conducting a major review of the regulatory framework.