Catchment management in the water industry

We discuss the impact of regulation of the water industry, including the unintended consequences of sustainable treatment.

 We discuss the impact of regulation of the water industry, including the unintended consequences of sustainable treatment.

Demand for water is growing, putting a strain on available supplies. The water industry faces the dual challenge of managing continuous supply and discharge of sewage.

Meanwhile, both the UK population and the effects of climate change continue to increase.
Public pressure and the actions of environmental organisations have driven the need for legislation to improve the cleanliness of rivers, lakes, groundwaters and coastal beaches.

The UK government’s Catchment-Based Approach aims to improve the quality of catchment water and the environment of the catchment area and the EU Water Framework Directive has improved natural water quality, particularly in UK rivers.

But according to ‘Catchment management in the water industry,’ current legislation is overly stringent. The report says that an improvement in UK water quality that met tightened effluent consent levels was only achieved through energy and chemical intensive treatments at sewage works which were hugely damaging to the environment.

Such processes are also costing UK water companies up to £9 million a year on electricity.

Key recommendations

1. The Effective Catchment Management called for by Ofwat will not happen without structural reform. The water industry is too complex to achieve these goals. Catchment Management Teams must be given powers to make binding decisions, including the management of finance to implement those decisions. This should be recognised and treated as a key aspect of Ofwat’s strategy.

2. The current Water Framework Directive has created a number of unintended consequences. An example is the way it is causing greater environmental impact through unreasonable waste water quality demands, driving up energy and chemical use. The Directive needs to be urgently reviewed to enable a more holistic approach to water management across the whole water network.

Related links

Read the press release related to this policy statement