My View: The State of our Water

Thank you to everyone who got in touch with me about our Water White Paper and the state of our water. I agree 100% that every family in this country deserves clean water from their taps, seas safe to swim in, and fair and affordable bills.

I support the upcoming Water Bill, which is a central part of our Government’s programme and a priority for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It will be an opportunity to progress an ambitious, coherent reset of the legislative framework around water.

I’m really excited about our Government’s White Paper, A New Vision for Water, published in January, which lays the groundwork for new legislation on water reform. This will drive the transformatory change we need to ensure a resilient and sustainable water system that works for customers, the environment and future generations.

The White Paper sets out once-in-a-generation reforms, building a water system fit for the future. It proposes a single, more powerful regulator to eliminate the current confusion, duplication and gaps in regulatory oversight, and an independent water ombudsman to resolve consumer disputes fairly.

It emphasises a prevention-first approach, introducing an MOT for water company infrastructure and a performance improvement regime to allow the regulator to step in faster. There will also be reforms to regional planning to bring together all parties to tackle pollution and manage resource.

I also support the tightening of agricultural standards to reduce pollution at source. I welcome work by the Water and Farming Ministers to bring together representatives from farming, environmental groups and water companies under the Addressing Pollution from Agriculture programme. These representatives will meet regularly until the summer to look at ways to tackle agricultural pollution. I will follow updates and look forward to learning about the group’s outcomes.

I am pleased Ofwat blocked £4 million in water company bonuses in the first year of its new rule preventing bonuses that do not meet Ofwat’s expectations being paid for by consumers. I supported our Government’s Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 which introduced this rule, which I’m sure many of you will be aware of.

As many of you who contacted me may know, our Government has pledged to publish a transition plan this year to ensure a stable roadmap for water industry reform, working alongside the Welsh Government. I will follow developments on this, and thank you again for bringing it to my attention.