The water system is currently managed by too many different bodies, with too few powers. The UK Government is reportedly exploring setting up new Regional Water Authorities to tackle this. If done right, these could replace this fragmented, distant management with powerful unified bodies focused on restoring local rivers.

These must have maximum powers to tackle damage and restore rivers, through: 

• Authority to intervene to stop pollution from intensive farming, chemical manufacture, development and road run-off; to pause on extracting water from rivers where water supplies are not available; and to change drainage systems to keep more water on the land.   

• Local political leadership, informed by independent expertise, to ensure that authorities meet their targets and are accountable for doing so at a local level, allowing voters to pass judgement on the success (or otherwise) of local river restoration effort

The current water company model has led to unacceptable pollution, failing nature and people.

Water companies must be given a new primary purpose to contribute towards nature recovery targets.

If private water companies fail to meet this new purpose and undo the damage they have caused, they should be transformed by Government into co-operatives, owned by the public. 

Water is not just an environmental issue. It affects housing, farming, food security, economic growth, public health, climate resilience and nature recovery. A clean, healthy water system is everyone’s right. Somewhere along the way we lost sight of this. 

A healthy, natural system can protect against flooding, drought, wildfire, and food shortages, and build a healthier and more prosperous society.

It is time to treat water as the critical national infrastructure it is and fix the whole system, with people and nature at its heart.

There are plenty of examples of how restored nature can help with all this! You can see just a few here: https://wtru.st/Evidence-compendium