Earlier this week, the Independent Water Commission, led by Sir John Cunliffe, published its review of the water sector in England and Wales. It forms the most comprehensive review since the industry's privatisation, and covers regulatory reform, water company governance, and infrastructure, amongst other things.

The report’s most eye-catching recommendation is that the economic regulator, Ofwat, will be scrapped to make way for a new regulatory body in both England and Wales, which will also assume responsibility for some functions currently provided by the Environment Agency, Drinking Water Inspectorate, and Natural England. However, beyond regulatory reform, the review has considered several topics familiar to Policy Connect as part of its recent Bricks and Water inquiries.

Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS)

The report highlights the benefits that SuDS provide and recommends that SuDS in new developments in England should be a mandatory requirement and should be built and maintained to a consistent standard.

Policy Connect’s view: we have consistently advocated for the mandatory use of SuDS since the publication of our first Bricks and Water report in 2018. Even back then, this was not a new or radical suggestion, with the use of SuDS a key recommendation in the 2008 Pitt Review. It is disappointing that, almost 20 years on, successive governments have failed to implement Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act (2010), which would end developers’ automatic right to connect surface water to public sewers and pave the way for the widespread use of SuDS in England.

Water efficiency and reuse

The report recommends introducing compulsory smart metering and a new policy and regulatory framework to drive the adoption of water reuse infrastructure in the household and non-household markets.

Policy Connect’s view: in our second Bricks and Water report, we strongly advocated for both the adoption of water reuse systems and the acceleration of smart metering, to reduce household water consumption below 100 litres per person, per day.  The Government should act on this urgently, especially given that water scarcity is directly stifling growth in areas such as Cambridge.

Systems planning

The report calls for the introduction of a comprehensive systems planning framework for England and Wales with responsibility for integrated and holistic water system planning and recommends that in England, the systems planners should be regional.

Policy Connect’s view: the movement of water does not recognise local planning authority or water company area boundaries, and therefore we have strongly advocated for a regional, or catchment-based, approach to water management. Back in 2018, we recommended the formation of Catchment Partnerships to improve water systems planning.

What's missing?

Although the Review considers leakage, we were surprised not to see any firm recommendations to help reduce leakage, which typically averages 3 billion litres of water per day in England and Wales.

The Westminster Sustainable Business Forum is currently scoping for a new inquiry, which will consider water resources and reuse. If you would be interested in participating this work, please contact Senior Policy and Research Manager, Rob Allen robert.allen [at] policyconnect.org.uk (robert[dot]allen[at]policyconnect[dot]org[dot]uk).