Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the water industry prioritises good water quality.

Ofwat published its final determinations for Price Review 2024 in December 2024, which sets company expenditure and customer bills for 2025-2030. This will deliver substantial, lasting, improvements for customers and the environment through a £104bn upgrade for the water sector. This investment will mean cleaner rivers, seas, and lakes across the country, more jobs and more investment.

Since 1 January 2025, water companies have been required to publish data related to discharges from all storm overflows within one hour of the discharge beginning. The Secretary of State has authorised Ofwat to carry out enforcement action for this duty, in accordance with the powers conferred under sections 18 and 141DA (4) of the Water Industry Act 1991.

Ofwat is monitoring compliance with the duty to report relevant data in real time. Ofwat’s enforcement powers provide for a wide range of enforcement activity, including substantial penalties. Where it detects non-compliance, it will take appropriate enforcement action.

In addition to this, the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 has introduced an equivalent duty for water companies to publish data related to discharges from all emergency overflows within one hour of the discharge beginning. Once commenced, this duty will be enforced in the same way.