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O fwat has called for clear improvements from water companies in how they plan for greater resilience against drought. In its response to water companies' draft Water Resource Management Plans, the regulator said that water companies could make better use of opportunities to trade water, reduce water consumption and cut leakage in the long term. It also found that some companies need to do more to involve their customers and third parties in planning and that the quality of some of the draft plans and supporting evidence fell short. Ofwat also highlighted O at demands more on water resource management examples of good practice, such as ambitious proposals to cut leakage in the short term by using satellite imagery and smart meters to locate customer supply pipe leakage. David Black, senior director Water 2020, said: "We are disappointed that water companies' draft water resources plans fell short of our expectations given the challenge to the sector for ambitious action to improve resilience. "There are examples of good practice in a number of plans, but more can be done to deliver a robust twin track approach and look harder across company boundaries to develop regional solutions and outcomes." The Environment Agency, meanwhile, has issued a report warning that rivers and wildlife could be left without sufficient water unless action is taken to † Environment Agency also calling for action on water e ciency Twitter reaction a‡ er Ofwat demanded action over the failures to cope with the Beast from the East O fwat has announced that it is awarding the delivery partner contract to support PR19 to a consortium led by PwC. Mott MacDonald and Europe Economics will also form part of the consortium, which Ofwat said was the result of a "competitive procurement process". Accountancy firm PwC had also served as delivery partner for PR14 under a three-year, £6.45m contract. Concerns had been raised over a potential conflict of interest with PwC working for both the regulator and water companies for PR14. Antoinette Sandbach, Conservative member of the business select committee, told the Financial Times• last year: "Consumers need to have confidence in the regulatory process, and despite the safeguards insisted on by Ofwat, clearly these disclosures raise concern." Sandbach urged Ofwat to "conduct further investigation of the relationship between PwC and the water companies". The regulator said at the time that it had taken action to "ensure that any existing actual and potential conflicts were identified and suitable measures put in place to ensure there were robust ethical walls". PwC also said it had made extensive efforts to ensure there was no issue, saying that it adheres to all regulatory, professional, ethical and independence standards and had robust compliance processes. Ticking o from @Ofwat for @sewateruk for failure in the freeze leaving tens of thousands without water. Richly deserved. But will anything change? Better planning and more investment required. @bridger_tony So basically the @ OfwatChiefExec is too soft and giving more time than needed. Just ‚ ne the companies that messed up during #beastfromtheeast. @ BBCBreakfast #bbcbreakfast #bbcpapers @itswaynebtw Good to hear @Ofwat's Rachel Fletcher @OfwatChiefExec mentioning freeze thaw best practice as well as poor practice on @BBCBreakfast this morning @KarmaOckenden wastage, many areas in England could see significant supply deficits by 2050 – particularly in the South East. The 'State of the Environment: Water Resources' report highlights unsustainable levels of water abstraction, leakage from water companies – currently estimated at 3 billion litres per day – and demand from industry and the public as three of the issues to tackle. Emma Howard Boyd, chair of the Environment Agency, said: "We need to change our attitudes to water use. It is the most fundamental thing for a healthy environment... we have to work together to manage this precious resource." wwtonline.co.uk | JULY 2018 WET NEWS 3 O at hands PR19 contract to PwC-led consortium reduce water use and wastage. The first major report on water resources in England states that climate change and demand from a growing population are the biggest pressures on the availability of water. Without action to increase supply, reduce demand and cut down on Service simply not good enough from these top four water companies during the extreme, but not unprecedented winter weather. Considering what their top execs are being paid, Government + Ofwat itself must now ask how did 'they' let this happen @LabourDefra @HollyLynch5 WET News is registered at Stationers' Hall. Origination by Faversham House and TR Clash Ltd. Printed by Buxton Press, Palace Road, Buxton, Derbyshire, SK17 6AE. Copyright 2018. Faversham House. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written permission from the publishers. Every e ort is made to ensure the accuracy of material published in WET News. However, Faversham House will not be liable for any inaccuracies. The views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the editor or publishers. The text and cover paper are manufactured from certi‚ ed sustainable sources and are produced with reduced environmental impacts via a recognised and independently audited management scheme. Technical articles of full page, or more appearing in this journal are indexed by British Technical Index. © 2018 Faversham House Ltd. 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