Action needed on water charges

Photo: Walker Review 

The Walker Review on charging for water raises some important questions and challenges for the water industry. Anna Walker said in her conclusions: “while the regulatory regime in the water industry has served customers well over the last twenty years, we now face considerable new challenges”. She went on to say: The biggest issue is the mismatch between how we value water now and how we will need to do so in future”. 

The Walker Review strongly challenges whether the current system of charging is fair. Two particular issues are the high level of charges in the South West, 43% higher than other areas and the high levels of debt.  The report questions why debt in the water industry should be three times higher than in the energy sector, although water bills are a third of energy bills suggesting that something is fundamentally wrong.

The issue of fairness addressed in the Walker Review is crucial to customer’s perception of the water industry. The industry depends on the support of customers to enable future investment. Government and regulators need to find the time and courage to tackle the issues raised in the Walker report soon before they escalate and become bigger and more expensive still.