Quick links
Future challenges
This section outlines the work that we are carrying out to prepare the water and sewerage sectors for the challenges we now face.
The last 20 years
The water and sewerage sectors have made significant progress since they were privatised two decades ago. Then, a neglected infrastructure, along with polluted beaches and rivers, meant we were seen by many as the ‘dirty man of Europe’.
Today we have world-class drinking water and a cleaner environment. Services are also safer, better and more secure than ever before.
New challenges
However, looking ahead we now face a number of major new challenges that threaten not only the progress we have made but also our long-term water security. These include:
- adapting to climate change
- mitigating the effects of climate change
- worldwide water scarcity
- a growing population
- complying with stringent environmental standards
Addressing future challenges
These challenges will make delivering safe, reliable, efficient and affordable services increasingly difficult. Historically, water and sewerage services have been fairly predictable, but the challenges we are now facing introduce a much wider range of uncertainty. There is uncertainty about the climate and weather patterns we will face in the future and their effects on supplies and services. There is uncertainty too about future levels of demand, which will be influenced by changes in lifestyles, demographics, climate and environmental standards.
Simply relying on the solutions of the past will not be enough to contribute to deliver the services of the future. We need to consider whether there are better, more sustainable ways of doing things, and we need to do this now, because new solutions may take a long time to deliver.
That is why we are planning to carry out a number of key projects as part of a ‘future regulation’ programme. The aim of the programme is to review fundamentally what we do, why we do it and provide recommendations on what our future approach should be.
To inform and advise on our future regulation programme, we have formed an expert advisory panel. It comprises respected professionals from a number of key fields of study.
- Accounting separation
- Future price limits
- Future scenarios
- Future water charging
- Regulatory compliance
- Retail markets
- Sustainable drainage
- Upstream market arrangements
- Water rights trading
The programme of work will help us – working with stakeholders – to deliver our long-term vision for sustainable water today, tomorrow and over the long term.
Focus reports
Alongside our programme, we will be publishing a series of ‘Focus reports’. These are aimed at informing customers and other stakeholders about different areas of our work – or our latest thinking around a particular issue.
For example, our ‘A drain on society – what can be done about water debt?’ report looked at the problem of customer debt within the water and sewerage sectors and what we think should be done about it.
By publishing these reports we hope to provoke discussion – and possible action – amongst our stakeholders, to help us all find the right long term, sustainable solutions.
