Documents obtained from government regulators have revealed that a Midland water company has been among multiple suppliers receiving repeated warnings about risks to water supplies for several consecutive years. The disclosures highlight ongoing concerns about the resilience of the nation's water infrastructure.
Regulatory Warnings Issued Annually
South Staffordshire Water was identified as one of eleven water companies that received notifications from regulatory bodies last year regarding security of supply concerns. These warnings formed part of the annual review process for water resources management plans, which cover the extensive period from 2020 through to 2045.
The regulatory bodies involved in issuing these warnings included Ofwat, the Environment Agency, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Their concerns focused on multiple performance areas where companies were deemed to be falling short of required standards.
Multiple Companies Under Scrutiny
The list of companies receiving warnings extends beyond the Midlands region to include Thames Water, South East Water, Anglian Water, Affinity Water, Southern Water, South West Water, Cambridge Water, Portsmouth Water, Essex and Suffolk Water, and Albion Water. This represents a significant proportion of the country's water supply network.
Regulators expressed particular concern about company performance across several critical areas. These included excessive water leakage from aging infrastructure, chemical pollution incidents, unsustainable abstraction from natural water sources, and inadequate demand management strategies.
Persistent Underperformance Identified
Investigations by Watershed Investigations uncovered that some companies have received warnings for multiple consecutive years. South West Water, Southern Water, South Staffordshire Water and Portsmouth Water were all notified about concerns over six successive years, indicating persistent rather than isolated issues.
In correspondence with Southern Water, regulators stated the company had "persistently underperformed on its water resources management plan delivery" over the previous six-year period. The letter explicitly stated this underperformance had "put both customer supply security and the environment at unacceptable risk."
Specific Concerns Raised
Regulators communicated specific concerns to different companies based on their individual circumstances. South East Water, which recently experienced significant supply disruptions affecting thousands of customers in Kent and Sussex, had received warnings for four consecutive years about pressure on its system.
In correspondence from November last year, officials told the utility it had "shown significant resilience concerns during dry weather with supplies being restricted due to high demand." This warning came despite the company attributing recent outages to poor weather conditions.
South West Water received warnings about its management of high demand in its region, with regulators stating this had "contributed to operational challenges and your ability to meet customer demand during warm, dry periods." The correspondence emphasized this required "immediate additional action to get customer demand down."
Broader Implications for Development
For Anglian Water and Essex and Suffolk Water, regulators raised concerns that supply limitations in certain areas could potentially hinder economic growth and sustainable development. The warning suggested that potential new users might be turned down due to insufficient water resources, creating barriers to regional development.
Thames Water received similar warnings that falling behind on demand management would increase risks to supply security for customers during dry periods in the short term. Additionally, regulators cautioned that this could cause the company to veer off track from its long-term ambitions to reduce overall water demand.
Campaign Group Response
James Wallace, chief executive of environmental campaign group River Action, responded strongly to the revelations. "This is yet more evidence that the UK is sleepwalking towards running out of water," he stated.
"It sounds absurd in a rainy country, but decades of under-investment and a profit-first model have left our water system – our lifeblood – dangerously fragile," Wallace continued. "Three million litres of drinking water are lost every day through leaking pipes and not a single new major reservoir has been built since privatisation in the late 1980s."
He concluded with a stark warning: "The public has paid through rising bills – now water companies must invest to prevent taps running dry and serious damage to the economy, food security, industry and our health."
Regulatory Changes Proposed
The revelations come as ministers recently outlined powers planned for a new watchdog as part of a major regulatory shake-up aimed at addressing problems in the troubled water sector. The Government's Water White Paper proposes that water companies will need to conduct regular health checks on their infrastructure.
These proposed checks would require companies to proactively identify deteriorating pipes, pumps, or issues at sewage treatment works before failures occur, potentially preventing the supply disruptions that have affected customers in recent years.
Regulator's Statement
An Ofwat spokesperson addressed the situation, stating: "While there has been progress, we have reminded those companies that remain off track that they will be held to account for any non-delivery of more resilient water supplies."
The spokesperson emphasized regulatory action, adding: "We do not hesitate to act where they fail to do so, such as our ongoing enforcement investigations against South East Water on supply issues and customer service."
Regarding investment, the spokesperson noted: "We allocated £2 billion to companies to accelerate work on 30 major supply projects in our 2024 Price Review – itself an unprecedented £104 billion package to help companies deliver better outcomes for customers and the environment."
The Press Association contacted the Environment Department (Defra), industry body Water UK, and the water companies mentioned for additional comment on these regulatory warnings and their implications for future water security across the regions affected.
