Recommendation 93

Regulatory enforcement is necessarily reactive, but this lack of monitoring forces policy making and problem solving also to be reactive. A lack of forward planning and programmes means issues cannot be addressed before they reach this legal backstop. Crawley Borough Council told us: “If early warning signs related to the impact of abstraction by Southern Water on the protected habitats had been picked up earlier through Natural England being fully resourced to undertake monitoring, the water industry regulators (Environment Agency and OFWAT) could have required Southern Water to bring in alternative water supply solutions sooner as part of their Water Resources Management Plan.” 131