Following last week’s publication of the Water (Special Measures) Bill, the government has given a clearer indication of the importance of water sector investment in the delivery of growth and job creation.

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed and Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Lord Livermore hosted a roundtable with water investors in the City of London.

Ministers discussed the importance of private sector investment into water companies and how they can work together to clean up our rivers, boost economic growth around the country by creating tens of thousands of jobs, and increase the resilience of our water supply that underpins every single home and business in the UK.

Campaign group challenges industry regulator over price rises for customers that will pay to upgrade infrastructure

Reported in The Guardian, the water industry regulator has been accused of overseeing a “stealth bailout of water companies” over proposals to increase bills by up to 44% over the next five years.

Campaign group Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (Wasp), which exposed suspected illegal discharges of sewage across England and Wales, has challenged Ofwat, the industry regulator, over the proposed price rises. The final determinations are due to be announced in December.

In a submission to the regulator, Wasp says the review should not be finalised until ongoing investigations into the industry are concluded, including a wide-ranging review of the industry announced by environment secretary Steve Reed.

It also says the regulator has failed to provide key data on how much shareholders in water firms have paid in upgrading infrastructure since privatisation, warning that billpayers have footed the bulk of the bill.

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