Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 42
42
Defra and Ofwat developing water industry investment plan to reduce storm overflows and upgrade treatment works.
Recommendation
Defra and Ofwat have been working together to determine an investment plan for the water industry, setting expectations to reduce the number of storm overflows by 45% compared with 2021 and to upgrade over 1,700 water treatment works. Defra expects to receive recommendations from 100 House of Commons Library, Sewage Discharges, 24 May 2024 101 C&AG’s Report, para 3.16 102 Q 33 103 AR0002, AR0003, AR0004, AR0005, AR0007, AR0015 104 C&AG’s Report, paras 9, 2.35, 3.17, Figure 1 105 Qq 91–92 106 Qq 91–92 21 the Independent Water Commission in the summer of 2025 on how to tackle systemic issues and transform the water sector. VMD told us that it is committed to tackling this issue.107 Data collection and sharing
Government Response
A response document is linked to this report, dated 18 September 2025. Response attribution to this conclusion has not been verified. Read the response document ↗