Overview

• The Water (Special Measures) Act 2025, now in effect, allows for up to two-year prison sentences for water company executives who conceal illegal sewage discharges.
• New provisions empower regulators to ban executive bonuses and require real-time monitoring at all emergency sewage outlets to enhance accountability.
• An Independent Water Commission is reviewing systemic reforms, while the Office for Environmental Protection investigates compliance with water quality laws.
• The National Audit Office reported that at the current rate, replacing the UK's ageing water mains could take 700 years, highlighting chronic underinvestment.
• Public trust in the water sector has plummeted, with record sewage spills in 2024 and widespread criticism of regulatory failures and corporate obstruction.