Climate and science reporter, BBC News<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The long-awaited review into England and Wales’ troubled water sector has been released.<\/p>\n There’s much to pick through in the 465-page report – but here are the key points.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The independent Water Commission, led by former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe, was set up in response to growing public concern about sewage spills and rising bills.<\/p>\n Sir Jon makes it clear that pretty much all sides are to blame for the state of the sector.<\/p>\n “The underlying fact is we have not managed this well, and no one comes out of this with very much glory – not government, not the water companies and not the regulators,” he told BBC Breakfast.<\/p>\n But it’s the role of the regulators that comes under most scrutiny.<\/p>\n Regulation might not sound exciting, but it’s essentially the way of keeping water companies in check to make sure they deliver for billpayers and the environment.<\/p>\n Currently, responsibilities are divided between the economic regulator Ofwat, the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales and the Drinking Water Inspectorate.<\/p>\n The most-eye catching of the 88 recommendations is the proposal to instead have a single water regulator in England and a single water regulator in Wales, rather than being split by economic and environmental goals.<\/p>\n That would mean scrapping Ofwat, something the government has now confirmed it will do, marking a major shake-up in the way water companies are held to account.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The outcry over sewage spills is, at least in part, down to better monitoring<\/a>. <\/p>\n We now have a much better idea of how many times sewage is spilled into our rivers and seas, which were not routinely monitored even a decade ago.<\/p>\n But the Water Commission recommends reforming what’s called “operator self-monitoring” \u2013 where water companies monitor and report pollution and sewage incidents to the regulator.<\/p>\n Campaigners have argued this effectively amounts to water companies marking their own homework. <\/p>\n The review doesn’t recommend making monitoring entirely the responsibility of the regulator over water companies, citing high costs.<\/p>\n But it does say that the regulators should develop a stronger approach to monitoring, including greater automation, third-party checks and “intelligence-led inspections”.<\/p>\n The review adds that reforming self-monitoring “should mark a clear departure from the past and presents an opportunity to re-build trust”.<\/p>\n Sir Jon advocates making use of more advanced technology such as artificial intelligence to better measure the full impact of sewage spills, rather than just their timing.<\/p>\n There are “concerns about the value for money and effectiveness” of the current electronic monitors of spills, the review says.<\/p>\n There needs to be better efforts to monitor other forms of pollution too, including agriculture<\/a>, microplastics and forever chemicals<\/a>, it adds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The regulator should also have more say in who owns water companies and introduce a “new regime to make senior executives directly accountable”, the review says.<\/p>\n The sector also needs new measures to attract long-term investors and better oversight of company finances, it adds. <\/p>\n But some campaigners are angry that the review was never allowed to consider what they see as the fundamental problem – that it is in private, not public hands.<\/p>\n In setting up the Water Commission, the government had ruled out nationalisation, arguing that it would be too expensive and wouldn’t necessarily lead to improvements. <\/p>\n The campaign group Surfers Against Sewage accused the report of “putting lipstick on a pig”.<\/p>\n The review “utterly fails to prioritise public benefit over private profit”, said chief executive Giles Bristow.<\/p>\n In Wales the water industry is private, but not-for-profit.<\/p>\n Sir Jon told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that our current privatised system could work if well regulated.<\/p>\n He said he remembers what the system was like before privatisation when we were the “dirty man of Europe”.<\/p>\n But what annoys the public is when “the pay is there, and the performance is not”, which is when the regulator has to step in, he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n There was pressure from government and the regulator to keep bills low between 2009 and 2024, the Water Commission found.<\/p>\n That might have been good for our bills in the short-term, but the review says this “can now be seen as underinvestment”.<\/p>\n These consequences are now becoming clear, with additional pressures from climate change and a growing population.<\/p>\n![\"Getty](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/6869\/live\/e7d20230-4040-11f0-bace-e1270fc31f5e.jpg.webp\")
Getty<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n1. All sides to blame – but Ofwat gets the boot<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
2. Water companies need to stop marking their own homework<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
3. More controls over company owners – but no nationalisation<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/static.files.bbci.co.uk\/bbcdotcom\/web\/20250711-084946-a521911844-web-2.25.0-9\/grey-placeholder.png\")
![\"PA](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/7760\/live\/12a4e020-404d-11f0-95b4-19782fc5d14e.jpg.webp\")
PA Media<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n4. Our bills may have to rise<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n