The Sustainability of the Water Industry in a Regulated Environment

A complex regulatory system now governs the privatised water industry in England and Wales. There is now a key question as to whether this system is adequate to ensure that the government's aim of sustainability can be achieved. Sustainability policies need to be considered in the light of the international, European and national initiatives, and many of these will impact on the water industry in England and Wales. Two areas are highlighted as of particular importance. The first concerns water resources and how water abstraction, leakage and flooding can be controlled alongside the corresponding uncertainty of global warming. Second, the issue of bathing water quality demonstrates problems of financing improvement programmes, and the adequacy of current programmes in ensuring a cleaner bathing water environment for the next generation. The issues have to be considered alongside the mechanisms and procedures for reaching decisions under the present regulatory framework. These decision-making structures will prove central to any robust sustainability for the water industry.