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Chris Walters, Ofwat interim CEO responds to the Government’s White Paper on water

Responding to the Government’s White Paper on water, Chris Walters, Ofwat interim CEO, said:

“We welcome the government’s White Paper and its direction for the future of the water sector. The creation of a new water regulator for England will bring a renewed focus, improve the sector for customers, investors and the environment, and rebuild trust.

“In the meantime, our work continues. We have eight enforcement investigations into water companies looking at compliance with the customer-focussed licence condition, wastewater treatment, the delivery of environmental schemes and supply resilience. We are already working closely with DEFRA and our partner regulators as the government develops the new body, ensuring the sector moves towards a more integrated and resilient future.

“We are also overseeing the delivery of record levels of investment and 30 major infrastructure projects to improve the resilience of our water supplies and will continue to act within our current powers to protect customers and the environment, while ensuring a smooth and effective transition to the new regulatory model.”

Notes for editors

Since the Independent Water Commission’s final report, Ofwat has:

• Closed three more wastewater investigations into Wessex Water, Anglian Water and South West Water, securing more than £95m in enforcement undertakings.
• Opened a new enforcement case into South East Water’s compliance with their customer-focussed licence condition.
• Published the Water Company Performance Report for 2020-2025 alongside the Environment Agency’s Environmental Performance Assessment, the Performance Related Pay report, and Monitoring Financial Resilience report.
• Launched the Water Efficiency Lab
• Continued to progress work on the new measures introduced in the Water (Special Measures) Act, including on governance code, customer involvement and the fitness and propriety of water company executives.