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RARE PHOTOS: 2 - The Real Truth

England’s sewage scandal hinges on lack of water industry regulation – new docudrama reveals how profit drives pollution

A new three-part factual drama, Dirty Business, highlights the murky world of the English water industry. This Channel 4 docudrama follows the lives of two concerned citizens from Oxfordshire in south-east England: a retired police detective called Ash Smith and a retired university professor called Peter Hammond, who is an…

The Conversation

We’re financial experts. Here’s three simple ways to beat rising water bills

Ofwat confirmed that household water bills would increase by an average of 5.4 per cent from April

The Independent UK

Group expands legal claim over South West Water sewage pollution

Thousands more people across Devon and Cornwall could join case against water firm

The Guardian - UK

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‘People yearn for stability’: the Thames Water sewage plant at frontline of its crisis

Weighed down by underinvestment and uncertainty, staff at Maple Lodge just want to get on with the job

The Guardian - UK

Water bosses in England exploiting bonus loophole face crackdown

Exclusive: Ministers to act after last year’s legislation ‘outwitted’ by failing firms paying millions to executives

The Guardian - UK

Water bills are going up again in April - how much more will you have to pay?

Prices are rising by 5.4% on average from April, but the increase will vary widely across different regions

Evening Standard

Millions of households face hike in water bills from April

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The Independent UK

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Households in England and Wales must splash out more as water bills to rise by 5.4%

Average bills to go up again in April, with Ofwat approving record spending plans amid outrage over sewage spills

The Guardian - UK

Household water bills to rise by average 5.4% from April

Ofwat has allowed water firms to increase bills by 36% between 2025 and 2030.

Evening Standard

Customer complaints over water bills surge by 50% in England and Wales

Number of households complaining rises to 16,000 in 2025, with Southern Water the biggest target

The Guardian - UK

Water winners: who will gain from the industry’s spending spree in England and Wales?

As Labour shakes up regulation, suppliers are finally investing – but face problems such as contractor shortages and inflation

The Guardian - UK

FTSE 100 Live 20 January: European stocks slump on Trump tensions, dollar weakens

The UK’s unemployment rate has stayed at the highest level for nearly five years, fuelled by deepening jobs woes in the retail and hospitality sectors.

Evening Standard

Water firms could be let off pollution fines as part of government overhaul

Exclusive: Campaigners claim changes will let companies ‘off the hook’, as government prepares to unveil new white paper for water industry

The Guardian - UK

Water companies to undergo ‘MOTs’ as plans for new regulator to be unveiled

Ofwat will unlikely be formally axed before 2027, and the process to establish the new regulator will be complex.

Evening Standard

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The Independent UK

Water companies face biggest overhaul in a generation as new regulator unveiled

A chief engineer will also sit inside the new water regulator for the first time in two decades

The Independent UK

Troubled waters: How the UK’s water companies became a national disgrace

Outages in Kent and Sussex this week became the latest in a long list of breakdowns in the UK’s creaking water system. Harry Cockburn asks how Britain can solve its utilities crisis

The Independent UK

Water finally restored to some of 30,000 customers hit by week of disruption

South East Water has faced intense criticism from MPs and the public

The Guardian - UK

South East Water boss lasting weeks in post would be a surprise

David Hinton looks unlikely to claim five-year retention award but why did the board feel a need to offer it?

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Evening Standard

South East Water: Who owns the supplier that’s landed in hot water?

Like many UK utilities firms, South East Water has a complicated ownership structure with multiple streams of largely foreign investment.

The Guardian - UK

South East Water boss in line for £400,000 bonus despite outages

Exclusive: David Hinton, who faces calls to resign, will receive payout regardless of performance if he stays until July 2030

The Independent UK

South East Water could have licence revoked amid fears water supply issues could take days to resolve

Thousands of properties in Kent and Sussex left without drinking water for the sixth day running

Evening Standard

Ofwat launches probe into South East Water over supply outages

The regulator said it will investigate whether the supplier has complied with its customer service standards obligations.

The Guardian - UK

South East Water could lose operating licence after outages in Kent and Sussex

Fine of 10% of annual turnover among other potential penalties as environment secretary calls for Ofwat review

The Independent UK

‘How can they expect us to pay more?’: Anger as crisis-hit Tunbridge Wells water firm boss says higher bills needed to stop shortages

South East Water has appealed against the water regulator decision to raise bills further

Evening Standard

Water bosses recalled to appear before ‘sceptical’ MPs over December outages

A Parliamentary committee has recalled company bosses over the incident before Christmas, as thousands remain without water in a new supply failure.

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