Update: What’s happening to our rivers?

On 29 November, CCW wrote to both Ofwat and the Environment Agency (EA) to find out more about their investigation into potential unpermitted sewage discharges into rivers and other bodies of water.

In particular, our letter requested information on how they intend to hold wastewater companies to account, how long this will take and the impact it’s likely to have on people, communities and their local environment.

We made both our letters public, and you can read them below.

On 9 December, David Black, Interim Chief Executive at Ofwat, wrote a public letter to consumers addressing some of our questions. You can read that letter online here (pdf) opens in new window.

In the letter, David Black stated that Ofwat have asked to receive plans from water and wastewater companies by 22 December detailing how they will put any wrongdoing right for customers.

The letter states; “We’re at the early stages of this investigation and we will publish updates on our website as we progress.”

At CCW, we are pleased to see Ofwat taking onboard customer’s concerns and setting out their plans. We look forward to working with them to make sure the investigation results in positive change.

Want to understand more on this topic? Have a look at our FAQs and explainer video.