Minister backs water sector in driving change

Water Minister Emma Hardy has signalled the shift to a spirit of collaboration and celebration of water sector successes in a keynote address to the British Water Annual Conference, held in Coventry on 10 November 2025.  

“This is an incredibly important and exciting time for the water sector,” she said. “Real progress is being made. Yet we all know there is much more to do.  

“Bringing people together to share best practice will enable the sector to deliver the real change this country needs to see. I want to support this however I can.” 

The Minister also reiterated the planned release of a White Paper on water industry reform, “We will be seeking your consultation on this,” Hardy told delegates. “This will set out our vision for a reformed water sector that delivers better outcomes for customers, investors, and the environment.” 

The Minister confirmed the government’s intention to establish a single, powerful regulator – bringing together the roles of Ofwat, the Environment Agency, Natural England, and the Drinking Water Inspectorate, as recommended by Sir Jon Cunliffe in the Independent Water Commission review. She said it would “be created through new primary legislation – the Water Reform Bill – which we aim to introduce early in this Parliament.” 

Introducing the Minister, Severn Trent Water’s chief executive Liv Garfield, said that environmental performance was front of mind for her company, “We know how important that is to the public.”  

Achieving it, she said, is “about delivering more projects than ever before, and doing that in a whole range of different ways.”  

Advocating for the “power of partnerships”, she added, “We know it’s around scale engineering; it’s around innovation to tackle challenges that haven’t even been voiced yet.” 

Regulatory changes were explored by a panel chaired by British Water chair Stephen Slessor, chief executive of RSE.  

Chris Walters, interim chief executive of Ofwat spoke about the need to rebuild public trust in the water sector “to remain credible” until the new integrated water regulator for England, and separate system for Wales, is established. 

“We need to oversee and support the biggest five-year investment and expenditure programme in any five-year period since privatisation,” he said, “to safeguard the health of our rivers, our seas, and our waterways, to improve the resilience of our water supplies, and to get water companies to raise their game on performance for customers and the environment.” 

Walters indicated that more had to be done to support asset health and economic growth, by working with greater agility and more flexibility. 

“We must also play our role in progressing the pipeline of 30 major projects worth £50 billion,” he said, “including taking the lessons we’ve learned from competitive delivery models [like Thames Tideway] and building on those to further support their progress.” 

John Leyland, executive director of environment & business at the Environment Agency, stressed the importance of taking customers on the journey. 

“We will deliver some amazing things [in the next five years],” he said. “We need to take the public with us, because taking people with us will help drive action in the places where it's needed, not where the media might say it's hottest." 

Marcus Rink, chief inspector of the Drinking Water Inspectorate revealed that the UK was in a good position in international terms, with UK drinking water quality performance at 99.97% compared with a European average of 99.44%.  

“There are only two countries in Europe that rival us in terms of the quality of our drinking water,” he said, naming Finland and the Netherlands. Rink said that the sector needed to scrutinise and “learn from that success, and transfer that for the future.” 

On a panel focussed on project delivery, senior representatives from five water companies also explored routes into water companies for suppliers and innovators.  

Jane Simpson, commercial, engineering & capital delivery director, United Utilities, explained how investment had “quadrupled” over the past two five-year asset management plans (AMPs). She said the water company, which serves north-west England, now approaches its supply chain very differently, having adopted the Project 13 enterprise model to deliver 50-60 complex projects at £20-million-plus. 

“We've gone from having about three main suppliers to having over 100, so that’s a massive step-up for us, and a big change for our supply chain.”  

Simpson also responded to earlier questions from delegates about the slow start to AMP8, which began in April 2025. 

“We’re doing really well,” she said, explaining how the regulatory process has changed to one that monitored project delivery much more closely. “Ofwat has given us interim milestones, and I am holding my team to account against those interim milestones.”  

Reflecting on the event, British Water chief executive Lila Thompson said, “There can be no question that the sector is turning a corner in terms of the narrative coming from government and regulators. The Minister clearly recognises the need to bring the public onboard, to ensure that we get the best possible outcomes for the environment and communities, including clean bathing waters and resilient supplies. 

“Attracting top talent to the sector, and retaining this highly skilled workforce, is essential if we are to deliver these huge programmes of works, so that narrative really matters.”  

Thompson added, “British Water is the lead UK membership body representing businesses in the water and wastewater supply chain, ensuring members’ voices are heard, to build an effective ecosystem of delivery partners in collaboration with wider stakeholders. Our goal is to work ever more collaboratively, with utilities, regulators, innovators, suppliers and other groups, to meet the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of the water sector.”  

As an addition to 2025 agenda, British Water launched The Client Exchange on day two of the conference, a dynamic networking event designed to boost pace of implementation of upcoming projects, and create a pipeline of opportunities across the water sector. Suppliers engaged directly with representatives from water companies, consultancies and contractors in interactive Q&A sessions. 

Taxonomy

• Water