The water industry must bear some of the responsibility for where we are today, according to James Heath, Chief Executive of the National Infrastructure Commission. And while investment has increased since privatisation, it has not increased enough.

England had its driest February in 30 years according to the latest provisional figures from the Met Office, as meteorological winter concluded with a dry and mild month for most. 

Anglian Water is taking the initial steps to explore an ‘end to end’ smart metering delivery solution to continue the rollout of its installation programme which is the largest in the water industry with a potential estimated value of up to £300 million.

Portsmouth Water has appointed Future Water MJJV Limited to build the flagship Havant Thicket Reservoir in southern Hampshire – a contract worth £167 million. In addition, a new £41 million tunnelled pipeline, running to and from the reservoir, is set to be installed by Ward & Burke Construction Ltd.

South West Water has launched a public consultation on its draft Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP) setting out its long-term plans over the next 25 years to maintain secure and sustainable water supplies to customers.

Following the driest summer in nearly 30 years, experts in the National Drought Group are warning that another hot dry spell could see drought conditions return in 2023, despite winter rainfall replenishing most water levels.

Thames Water has awarded an AMP7 contract for commercial and financial advisory services to support it in the development of several Strategic Resource Water Options.

Europe has been experiencing a severe drought for years. Across the continent, groundwater levels have been consistently low since 2018, even if extreme weather events with flooding temporarily give a different picture.

Uisce Éireann (Irish Water) will be holding public webinars from next week on its draft Regional Water Resources Plan - North West.

2022 will be the warmest year on record for the UK, according to provisional figures from the UK Met Office – and the national weather forecaster is warning that 2023 will be one of the Earth’s hottest years on record.