Natural England

15 October 2008

Natural England, the government’s independent advisor on wildlife, today called on water companies to sharpen up their draft business plans to ensure that the Review of Water Pricing for the next five years (the PR09 Review) delivers on its potential to benefit the environment.

Natural England has reviewed the draft business plans submitted by England’s water companies to assess how they measure up on protecting the environment.

Overall, the plans show a mixed awareness of the natural environment. But, on the plus side, there is growing recognition of the need to manage water resources by looking after entire catchments rather than selected hotspots. By helping to resolve water quality problems at source and avoiding investment in expensive and energy intensive “end of pipe” solutions, catchment management benefits the customer and water companies as well as the environment.

Helen Phillips, Natural England’s Chief Executive, said: “We are really encouraged that the majority of companies have catchment proposals in their draft business plans. Catchment schemes represent the new, innovative and enlightened way of thinking regarding cutting pollution at source and offer a wide range of benefits for consumers, companies and the environment.”

However, while the overall picture is encouraging, some water companies have failed to embrace the concept of catchment schemes in their plans, raising concerns about their ability to deliver wider environmental gains.

Helen Phillips continued: “Healthy water systems provide enormous benefit to people and the natural environment. As part of the current pricing review, important decisions need to be made, not only about how water is charged, but also about how the environmental quality of our water systems can be improved. All water companies will need to ensure that the environmental importance of our water systems is fully recognised in their final plans”.