Earlier this week, the Independent Water Commission chaired by Sir Jon Cunliffe published its long-awaited final report, listing its recommendations for a ‘fundamental reset’ of the water sector in England and Wales.

The report contains 88 recommendations for the government on changes to the water industry, spanning governance, environmental protection, investment and consumer rights. The report’s findings take into account the more than 50,000 submissions received by the Commission in response to its Call for Evidence, to which IEEP UK contributed.

Regulatory reform is at the heart of the report’s recommendations – particularly its call for the current regulator, Ofwat, to be abolished. The UK Government has now confirmed that Ofwat will indeed be replaced with a new ‘super-regulator’ that will have broad supervisory powers, taking on those currently held by Ofwat and the Drinking Water Inspectorate, as well as the water environment functions of the Environment Agency and Natural England. Our submission to the Commission’s Call for Evidence advocated for the creation of such a regulator, highlighting its importance for environmental protection, particularly preventing and remedying existing pollution and tackling emerging threats such as PFAS.

The Commission’s report makes a number of recommendations for reforms to improve environmental outcomes in the water sector. These include the potential for a move towards stronger regional governance through the creation of nine regional water planning authorities across England and Wales, with the aim of ensuring that decisions on environmental priorities and ambitions are taken at a local level. However, as Wildlife and Countryside Link have noted, their success would depend upon these authorities being given appropriate funding, resources and powers.

IEEP UK’s submission also underlined the importance of robust enforcement of existing legislation. As such, we welcome the report’s recommendation of increased resources for monitoring across the whole water environment, and the UK Government’s subsequent announcement of open, real-time monitoring across the wastewater system, which will allow appropriate scrutiny by the third sector and wider public.

In a section on concerns about the legislative framework for managing drainage and wastewater, the report also highlights the EU’s 2024 revision of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive – a topic on which IEEP UK has previously written – and its focus on tackling micropollutants. The Commission’s report notes that one way the revised directive seeks to do this is through the development of an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme for the producers of medicinal and cosmetic products that cause this type of pollution. The Commission’s report contains a recommendation for both the UK and Welsh Governments to explore both introducing a similar EPR scheme and more widely the suitability of the new EU legislation for England and Wales. This clearly opens the door for closer alignment with the EU in this area.

In response to the findings of the Commission, the UK Government will publish a White Paper this Autumn, on which it will then launch a consultation, before introducing a new water reform bill. The Welsh Government has suggested that it will work collaboratively with the UK Government on the production of the White Paper. IEEP UK will be closely following these developments and providing detailed analysis.

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