Environment Secretary Steve Reed says demand for water will outstrip supply in 15 years
Our water industry is broken.
Britain’s rivers, lakes and seas – a source of national pride – are awash with toxic sewage.
Pollution from agriculture, road runoff and chemicals are poisoning our waterways.
Our growing population and the impacts of climate change are straining the system.
In just 15 years, the demand for water will outstrip supply.
It would mean increasing disruption to our water supplies, and stop us building the new homes and critical infrastructure we need to grow the economy.
Fourteen years of Conservative failure have left our water infrastructure in disrepair and unable to cope with these growing demands.
They left behind a sector in decline and let water companies pay out multi-million-pound bonuses and dividends rather than fix our crumbling water infrastructure.
Enough is enough.
This Labour Government will fix our water sector. I have instructed the water regulator to ringfence funding to upgrade our water infrastructure, boost water supply and clean up our rivers – meaning it can't be syphoned off for million-pound bonuses and shareholder payouts.
Our Water Bill going through Parliament right now will give regulators more teeth to crack down on water companies damaging the environment and failing their customers.
This is an immediate downpayment on the wider reform of the water industry that’s needed after years of failure and environmental damage. We will clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.
Stronger regulation creates a level playing field that will attract the private sector investment we need to upgrade our broken infrastructure.
It will help secure around £88 billion of private sector investment in our water sector over the next five years. That will be the biggest ever investment in our water sector and the second biggest private-sector investment into any part of the economy over the course of this Parliament.
It will fund nine new reservoirs, multiple large-scale water transfer schemes, 8000 kilometres of water mains pipes - as well as upgrading 2,500 storm overflows and reverse water pollution. Boosting tourism and turbocharging growth in our costal communities.
It will give us the resilient water supply that every home and business expects, the water to build the houses and infrastructure Britain so desperately needs, and will create tens of thousands of well-paid jobs around the country.
Global investors and business leaders will come to London for an International Investment Summit this week to join the revolution to kickstart our economy and rebuild Britain. Our country stands on the cusp of renewal – and the water sector is central to that national renewal.
This is the change the country voted for: greater investment to clean up our waterways and restore pride in our countryside. Investment that means our children, and their children, have the chance to enjoy clean waterways just like we did when we were younger. Whether that’s fishing in a chalk stream, seeing a dragonfly for the first time, or splashing about in the sea without fear of pollution.
Investing in our water sector means investing in our countryside and investing in our future. It is our opportunity to give children back the natural world that is their birthright.
