Has the government got cold feet over fixing our broken water system?

In July, the Independent Water Commission, more commonly known as the Cunliffe Review, published a series of recommendations – 88 in all – on what was needed to fix Britain’s broken water sector. While the remit of this Commission meant it focused on the role of water companies and the regulators, Cunliffe brought up the need to look more widely and include the impact of agriculture and transport on our water environment.

The Angling Trust submitted detailed evidence and recommendations to the Water Commission as it prepared its report. Much of what we submitted was taken up:

We Want A Water Industry Fit For Purpose

Angling Trust Presses Water Commission To Go Faster And Further

Upon publication of the Commission’s report, the government told Parliament that it would immediately accept five of the 88 recommendations. Two of which, the need for a single regulator and the need for a regional governance model for managing water, were part of the Angling Trust’s submission. In addition, the government committed to considering the remaining recommendations by publishing a White Paper in the autumn, and a Water (Reform) Bill in the next session of Parliament, after the next King’s Speech.

As autumn turns to winter, there’s still no sign of the White Paper, only vague commitments they may publish something before “the end of the year”. Rumours are also beginning to emerge that the government is having second thoughts on one of the recommendations it committed to – the regional governance model. Despite the driest summer in parts of England which saw reservoirs drained, rivers running dangerously low and record levels of sewage pollution, it feels as if the urgency has gone out of the government’s approach to water.

While the government may be dragging its feet, the Angling Trust and Fish Legal think this is an urgent issue. Jamie Cook, CEO of both the Angling Trust and Fish Legal, said, “Protecting the environment should be the first priority of any new approach to how we manage our water. The environment, and the biodiversity it supports are the fundamental foundation to a healthy water system. Without it, there is no economic growth, there is no water for us to drink, and there are no places for us to simply enjoy being by or in water. Water truly is the fundamental building block upon which we all depend.”

To set a way forward for the government, the Angling Trust and Fish Legal have published a report setting out what is needed to tackle the failings of our water system that has left our rivers, lakes, and sea swimming in pollution and often lacking in enough water to support our fish and wildlife.

The report, ‘What the government must now do to fix our failing water system’ sets out the actions needed and mounts a strong defence of the Water Framework Directive.

Both organisations are calling for:

• The environment to be the priority in all strategic approaches to how we manage water.
• A clear transition plan to move to the new system of management and regulation.
• A cross-sectoral approach to managing the whole water environment – ending the current siloed approach taken by government and the regulators.
• Better monitoring and more transparency so we can hold polluters to account.
• A strong single regulator with the power and expertise to take action.
• Regional water authorities to ensure decision are taken closer to where they matter and are based on hydrological boundaries.
• More investment in existing – as well as new – infrastructure to fix leaks and avoid the catastrophic failures which are wiping out rivers, killing tens of thousands of fish.

Angling Trust Head of Policy, Martin Salter, said: “The government needs to take forward, as a matter of urgency, all of the Cunliffe recommendations on asset health in order to tackle the abysmal state of water industry infrastructure. Much of which is approaching the point of collapse with horrendous consequences for public health, the economy and the environment. Britain has relied upon a mixture of complacence and the brilliance of Victorian engineering for far too long.”

The report also sets out serious concerns about the recommendations that seek to take a different approach to the Water Framework Directive, including reviewing aspects of its standards, implementation, and assessment. It would appear the Commission has fundamentally misunderstood the law in this context.

Zoe Wedderburn-Day, Head of Policy and Strategy, Fish Legal, comments: “The government now has a real chance to rebuild a failing system – but not by weakening the laws that protect our rivers. The Water Framework Directive isn’t the problem; it’s the foundation of protecting the water environment. Real reform means giving the new regulator the resources to enforce the law, putting ecology ahead of convenience and ending self-policing by those causing the damage. Our rivers are living ecosystems, not drains or leisure parks. Strengthen the law, enforce it properly, and we can finally start to reverse decades of decline.”

The Angling Trust and Fish Legal will continue to push the government to do the right thing when it comes to protecting our rivers, lakes, and seas.

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• Article by Stuart Singleton-White, Angling Trust Head of Campaigns