The ‘sewage scandal’ has been making headlines in recent years, with frequent discharges of untreated sewage from a system overwhelmed by climate change, lack of capacity investment and insufficient maintenance. 

Although the most prominent issue it is not the only challenge, being symptomatic of overarching problems in the water industry that have been brewing for decades. 

The 1989 move in England and Wales away from a nationalised water service was considered a bold experiment and one which has seen improvements on some fronts, but undeniably problems in many others.  

Decades of underinvestment have crippled the water sector 

The benefits of initial efficiencies and ongoing high quality drinking water have been trumped by underinvestment in infrastructure and the extraction of customer money as dividends paid to shareholders, compounded by regulators unwilling, unable, or directed not to act.  

After decades of this we now see not only sewage spills but other signs of shortcomings in the sector. Leaking pipes, collapsing sewers, some of the worst water efficiency levels in Europe, and high levels of environmental harm caused by excessive abstraction and incessant discharge of nutrients and chemicals are all pressures attributable at least in part to the water sector. 

In response to many of these difficulties the UK Government pledged to “clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good”, with a focus on reducing sewage spills and more generally improving the performance of the water sector. 

As part of this, they launched an Independent Water Commission tasked with looking at the water sector and water management more widely.   

The Commission published its final report in mid-July, setting out 88 recommendations in all, with most relevant to both England and Wales. The Commission was prevented from considering water company renationalisation, however its final recommendations, if acted upon in full, could deliver substantial changes to the management of water across the two countries.  

Media coverage has focussed on the abolition of Ofwat, the water sector’s economic regulator; a proposal which the Government straight away accepted.  

This will see the water functions of the Environment Agency and Natural England combined with those of Ofwat and the Drinking Water Inspectorate, giving a single point of control for the water sector and – crucially – all other sectors that pollute or otherwise harm the water environment. In Wales, these functions will likely sit within Natural Resources Wales.  

Any reorganisation comes with risks. The big risk here is that a new regulator will be overly focussed on water companies at the expense of say, agricultural pollution or urban runoff. Environment Agency data tells us that the water sector comes a close second behind agriculture in terms of the number of waters impacted, yet the regulatory attention we pay to the two are streets apart.  

A call for joined-up water strategy and regional collaboration 

Some of the report’s other recommendations have received less media attention but are just as important. The Commission’s overarching ask is for a cross-sectoral water strategy, to ensure we pay attention to all of the harms affecting our waters and devise the best ways of tackling these.  

This could include collaboration across sectors, such as other industries funding on-farm improvements if these are a more cost-effective way of meeting environmental needs.   

The report also recommends the introduction of regional ‘systems’ planning. That means we would start treating water holistically rather than managing it in silos of sewage, agricultural pollution, drought, and so on.  

Primary school children learning about the water cycle understand that water works as a system, but we seem to have forgotten this in our current management of water issues.  

The regional component of this would see greater stakeholder involvement in the prioritisation and funding of projects at a regional level, creating a welcome and currently-missing link between national policy and targets, and local catchment-scale delivery.  

Recommendations must be carefully implemented 

Other recommendations include possible legislative changes to move away from managing issues like chemicals and rainwater at ‘end of pipe’, instead employing rainwater harvesting and sustainable drainage more effectively, and keeping unnecessary chemicals out of our wastewater in the first place. 

There is also an encouraging suggestion that chemical producers, rather than society as a whole, should bear the costs of clean-up from chemical pollution.  

A host of wider proposals would see:

• better-resourced monitoring
• more detailed supervision of water companies
• regulatory oversight of sludge
• updated drinking water standards
• better controls on abstraction
• increased smart metering to drive water efficiency (for both householders and business)
• better social tariffs (protecting vulnerable customers & therefore enabling necessary environmental spend)
• a focus on maintaining water company assets
• stronger obligations upon on water company executives.

Almost all of the report’s recommendations are welcome from an environmental perspective, provided they are carefully implemented.  

One of the less-prescriptive and therefore potentially-concerning suggestions is that “UK and Welsh governments should review the current water legislative framework and amend it accordingly”. This includes looking at the overarching Water Framework Directive Regulations as well as related laws. Whilst framed as making the regime more workable and aligned, the devil will of course be in the detail - any changes to these regulations and laws should not result in reduced protections and ambition. 

Time will tell whether Government is committed to restoring our waters 

With the Cunliffe review published, all eyes are now on how the Government responds. Some changes have already been accepted, and Government will respond fully to the report in the Autumn, publishing a water White Paper, and consulting on changes ahead of a ‘Water Reform Bill’.  

Central to ensuring that this really does deliver the ‘water revolution’ that Defra have billed, is that any future regime is underpinned by a clear understanding of problems and a focus on the issues that will make the greatest difference.  

This may not always be the issue with the greatest public or political appeal, and indeed there will be many difficulties ahead in agreeing the fairest ways to fund and deliver improvements, but this is the test that will truly determine whether Government is committed to restoring our waters.