It’s Water Strategy Season!

Water strategy documents are a bit like buses, you wait for years and then two turn up. The first week of June 2025 saw the publication of the interim report from the UK Government’s Independent Water Commission (the Cunliffe Report), and the European Commission’s Water Resilience Strategy. Several long hours and strong cups of coffee later here’s our take on both documents.

First the positive comments. Both documents are very welcome and show a renewed focus at Government level on water, both locally and at a global water crisis level. The impact of water on all aspects of life, including economy, society, and environment is at last being acknowledged. Both documents recognise the importance of the water sector and the need for water conservation, innovation, good governance, public engagement, motherhood, and apple pie. But both are light on detail, implementation and actual measures. The Cunliffe report is interim but its remit, was so constrained by Government that there are fears that the final report won’t contain much more.

We can summarise the key points of the European Water Resilience Strategy as:
• Driving water efficiency is a first principle
• Unlocking the Water-Smart Economy by creating a Water-Transition Funds to invest in water infrastructure.
• Strengthen EU Industrial Competitiveness with a Water-Smart Industrial Deal and considering water in all industrial strategies.
• Promoting circular economy for water and wastewater and encouraging reuse technologies
• Developing a Water-Smart Vision for European Agriculture, including nature-based solutions
• Implementing an action plan for digitising the water sector
• Pushing for Zero Pollution through legislation and tackling pollution at source
• Supporting disruptive Research & Innovation activities with the creation of Water-Oriented living Labs
• And promoting better governance

And the draft Cunliffe report looks at similar themes:
• It mainly rehearses the problems with the water sector that we all already know.
• The need for stronger, clearer, more joined up regulation
• The need for increased trust in the sector
• The need for planning reform
• The need for flexible regulation that allows the development of innovative approaches like nature-based solutions.
• A drive for water efficiency
• And most importantly the need for the Government to have a water strategy
• But strangely there was no mention of the retail market.

From a Water Retail Company perspective, these reports are welcome as they set the mood music and increase the focus on water. But as we already operate by these principles and having been pushing for these outcomes, we don’t think either document will dramatically affect what we do, and we will just carry on providing bespoke customer service and driving water efficiency.

However both of these reports were published against a background of rising water prices, the threat of increased droughts and floods, instability of water utility companies, and aging water infrastructure. And this all means greater water uncertainty and risk for businesses. So, whilst these reports are welcome, we need to move much more quickly, and we need a lot more detail and a lot more action. Our view is that businesses need to assess their own water risks, and take action to mitigate them, rather than waiting for Governments to act.
If you want to know more about current or future water policy and how it might affect your business, get in touch and see how we can help you develop a future plan for water.

Independent Water Commission: review of the water sector – GOV.UK.
European Water Resilience Strategy – European Commission.