Water companies in England and Wales have been given clearance to spend 拢104bn on
upgrades to accelerate delivery of cleaner rivers and seas and secure long-term drinking water supplies by 2030.
Almost 拢12bn is allocated to cutting spills from storm overflows by 45% by 2030, from 2021 levels.
There will also be 拢6bn of upgrades to combat nutrient pollution for around 1,000 sites and catchments, and 拢3.3bn on nature-based solutions that increase biodiversity.
In total, 30 major infrastructure projects will build greater resilience to drought by providing enough water to meet the daily needs of around a third of England and Wales鈥� population
Customer鈥檚 bills will increase by an average of 拢31 a year, every year, over the next five years, Ofwat said.
Chief executive David Black said: 鈥淭oday marks a significant moment. It provides water companies with an opportunity to regain customers鈥� trust by using this 拢104bn upgrade to turn around their environmental record and improve services to customers.
鈥淲ater companies now need to rise to this challenge, customers will rightly expect them to show they can deliver significant improvement over time to justify the increase in bills. Alongside the step up in investment, we need to see a transformation in companies鈥� culture and performance. We will monitor and hold companies to account on their investment programmes and improvements.
鈥淲e recognise it is a difficult time for many, and we are acutely aware of the impact that bill increases will have for some customers. That is why it is vital that companies are stepping up their support for customers who struggle to pay.
鈥淲e have robustly examined all funding requests to make sure they provide value for money and deliver real improvements, while ensuring the sector can attract the levels of investment it needs to meet environmental requirements. This has seen us remove 拢8bn of unjustified costs compared with companies most recent requests. In addition, our approach to setting a rate of return has saved customers 拢2.8bn.鈥�
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
