Water war of words must not come at the expense of building confidence.

The main aims: get water utilities delivering for customers and sort out regulation of the sector to better hold companies to account. 

Fast forward to now and we have a white paper that looks sets to deliver that shake-up: abolishing Ofwat in favour of a single, integrated regulator; installing a chief engineer; and introducing “MOT‑style” health checks on networks. On paper, it looks like the proactive, engineering‑led supervision the sector needs.

But the rhetoric accompanying these reforms sets a very different tone. Take this from the environment secretary, Emma Reynolds: 

“Tough oversight, real accountability, and no more excuses. Water companies will have nowhere to hide from poor performance, customers will get the service they deserve, and investors will see a system built for the future.”

Based on this language, it’s clear this is government’s  intent on driving change in the sector, but intervention is only half the story. Without a credible plan to rebuild confidence and trust, this agenda could falter precisely where it matters – investment. 

Ministers are pushing for tougher oversight, no‑notice inspections, and performance improvement, but this must be done in partnership with water utilities. Language that is too vitriolic or measures that are too punitive risk undermining the right conditions for investment. 

We cannot lose sight of that. Investment delivers projects, in turn delivering the service improvements that customers need, but it starts with creating the right conditions. A sector too berated by government does not look a sure bet for external investment, undermining the measures needed to restore public confidence and trust – the very aims of the reforms.

The white paper nods to this by proposing a shift from the current five‑year investment sprints to a 5/10/25‑year structure, giving contractors and investors visibility across longer cycles. That is welcome but must now be implemented faithfully, not as an aim that dissolves at the next price review.

Government has secured the headlines around tougher accountability. That stick must now be met with the carrot of creating stable market conditions and praising progress where it is made.

Intervention is necessary, but stability is indispensable. Deliver on both and I have confidence the water sector will rise to the challenge put before it. But fail on that and this once‑in‑a‑generation reset risks becoming just another plan that never left the page.