21 Nov 2024
An investigation by The Guardian has found that the supply of water by Thames Water is ‘on knife-edge’ with £23bn repairs needed. It also says the company has failed to tackle serious safety concerns or upgrade vital IT systems. Photo credit: Johannes Plenio Britain’s biggest water company has failed to tackle adequately serious […]
21 Nov 2024
The Environment Agency is working with partners to secure the future of the internationally important population in the River Wansbeck in Northumberland. At the end of September, it was discovered that around 70 of the endangered native species had been found dead in the River Wansbeck catchment, one of the last remaining strongholds of the […]
07 Aug 2024
Ofwat has proposed that three water companies will be fined a total of £168m for failing to manage their wastewater treatment works and networks, as part of the first batch of outcomes from its biggest ever investigation. The penalties proposed for consultation will see Thames Water fined £104m, Yorkshire Water fined £47m and Northumbrian Water […]
17 Jul 2024
All 11 water and wastewater companies in England and Wales are now under scrutiny over sewage spills, after the regulator said it was expanding its investigation. This week, Ofwat opened enforcement cases into four more firms – Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, Hafren Dyfrdwy, Severn Trent and United Utilities – as part of its probe into […]
03 Jul 2024
Last week, The Guardian reported that “hours before its shareholders U-turned on plans to pump emergency funding” the Thames Water board had approved the payment of a £150 million dividend to intermediate parent company Kemble Water Eurobond. On Tuesday this week, the matter was discussed on the Today programme, with Ofwat denying it had agreed […]
07 Feb 2024
More designated bathing water sites would have been rated ‘poor’ in 2022 had all water quality samples been included in assessments, an investigation has found, with regulators accused of a ‘painting a better picture’ of the situation at the expense of public health. The ENDS report has found that the number of ‘poor’ rated bathing […]
29 Nov 2023
Potentially toxic “forever chemicals” have been detected in the drinking water sources at 17 of 18 England’s water companies, with 11,853 samples testing positive, something experts say they are “extremely alarmed” by. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – a group of 10,000 or so human-made chemicals widely used in industrial processes, firefighting foams and consumer […]
22 Nov 2023
The Environment Agency has provided an update in its national investigation into potential breaches of permit conditions at wastewater treatment works by water and sewerage companies. The Agency has completed site visits, covering flow systems and monitors, maintenance regimes, management practices and site diaries. It is now moving on to the data analysis stage, but the […]
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