Leak targets hit by water companies

23.10.08 14:09

Water companies hit their leakage targets for the first time this year despite spilling enough to fill Wembley Stadium three times every day, according to a new report.

Industry regulator Ofwat said companies were generally hitting their performance targets but there was still "room for improvement".

Ofwat's Service and Delivery report scrutinised how the companies performed in 2007-08 in delivering services to customers in England and Wales.

It reported all water companies hit their leakage targets for the first time.

However companies still leaked 3,291 megalitres of water a day - enough to fill the bowl of the new Wembley stadium almost three times every 24 hours.

Ofwat's chief executive Regina Finn said: "The water companies are getting better. Yet in terms of the progress what we are seeing is small steps up a steep hill. This is no time for complacency."

She said: "We want to ensure that customers receive consistent quality of supply at reasonable prices. We believe increasing competition will be the key to meeting these challenges.

"With an increasing population and the impact of climate change we need to think differently about how we manage our water."

Water companies in England and Wales propose increasing the average customer bill by around 9% more than inflation between 2010 and 2015.

Ms Finn also warned companies to guard against complacency in light of last summer's widespread flooding and climate change.

Ofwat's climate change policy warns the industry faces unprecedented challenges adapting to changing weather.

Recent predictions suggest wetter winters and drier, warmer summers, raising the potential twin challenges of flooding and supply shortages.

The report says water supply levels at seven companies mean they would implement a hosepipe ban on average once every ten years, even though more than half the companies work on the assumption of a ban once every 20 years.

Folkestone and Dover Water has already been granted 'water scarcity status'.

The report found fewer consumers are now at risk of sewer flooding or low pressure than in previous years.

Overall investment by companies was still 9% behind Ofwat's expectations for the first three years of the current price period.

But companies had caught up on capital maintenance, at 5% above the level Ofwat expected by now, the report said.

By: Josie Clarke