The Independent Water Commissionâs Review of the Water Sector in England and Wales was released on 21 July 2025, but the public response has been more muted than some anticipated (see Prepare for a drubbing).
In part this may be because, while the report recognises that all parties involved bear responsibility, quite a few of its criticisms and recommendations target the regulators. These currently include Ofwat, the Environment Agency, the Drinking Water Inspectorate and Natural Resources Wales, and one key proposal is to replace them with a single body. The UK Government has already confirmed that it plans to scrap Ofwat, in what BBC News and others described as a major shake-up in the way water companies are held to account.
At 465 pages and with 88 recommendations the report is not a lightweight document, and bodies such as Water UK have said they will take time to consider it. Others have already provided thoughtful initial responses:Â see e.g. CIWEM (including a special podcast) and Waterwise.
EBNet is watching developments, but shares the widely-held view that the review is comprehensive and thorough, and there is broad consensus on the problems – the tricky part will be rapid implementation of solutions.
Meanwhile we continue to do our best to develop sustainable cost-effective enbironmental biotechnologies for the water industry in the UK and worldwide.
