Regulating the environmental performance of the water industry is a core Environment Agency function. Since 2023 we have been transforming the way we regulate the water industry. Backed by significant investment we are delivering increased scrutiny and oversight through a specialised workforce dedicated to each water and sewerage company.
We recognise that further change is needed and that improvements need to be delivered at pace. We are working with government and partners to support thriving places, communities and sustainable growth while protecting and improving the environment.
A sector under scrutiny
It's our job to help protect homes and habitats, including England's water environment. We know how important rivers, lakes and coastal waters are to people and that they rightly want to see faster improvement and greater investment to better protect them.
That’s why transparency and accountability are more important than ever - so that people can see and understand what is happening in the places they live, work and spend time.
The Environment Agency is committed to transparency. Making our data accessible to the public is key to this. For example, we have already worked with Ofwat to develop an interactive map that shows where the water industry investment is being made at a local level to protect and improve the environment: Price Review 2024 Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) App.
Introducing Clear Waters
Clear Waters is a further extension of this work – a collaborative project to make information about water company environmental investment more transparent, accessible and useful. The Clear Waters group brings together regulators, environmental groups, the water sector, local authority representatives and consumer groups. The partnership is developing a shared approach to showing what environmental improvements are planned, where they are being delivered and how progress can be tracked. The aim is to help customers and stakeholders understand not just how much is being invested, but what that investment will deliver for rivers, lakes, groundwater and coastal waters in places they care about.
Addressing the transparency gap
By making environmental commitments visible and measurable, Clear Waters will support greater scrutiny of progress on delivery and help to rebuild public trust.
Clear Waters is already making progress: by working directly with customers and users of water-related information, the project has produced user profiles that are now being used to shape how water industry investment information is presented. This will make it easier for people to find , understand and use information about environmental investment and outcomes. Any lessons learned from this will then help inform how information on future investment is shared and accessed, ensuring it is more relevant, accessible and meaningful to the people who use it.
Clear Waters is already helping to bring together people with different perspectives on water and environmental data. At Northumbrian Water's Innovation Festival in July, representatives from regulators, water companies, environmental organisations, academia and technology organisations explored how information can be made easier to access, understand and use. Discussions focused on making environmental data more meaningful for different audiences, improving transparency around environmental outcomes and exploring how citizen science can complement existing monitoring.
Shaping the future of water regulation
Clear Waters will also play a key role in the transition to a new single regulator as set out in the Government's White Paper in January 2026. Lessons learned through our work will feed into thinking for future investment programmes, helping to shape a stronger, more accountable system for the future.
As well as the Clear Waters project, the Environment Agency is also working with Ofwat, the Drinking Water Inspectorate, Natural England and Natural Resources Wales on a joint programme of improvements to how we deliver water regulation and delivering meaningful change now, rather than waiting for policy or legislative change.
Insights from Clear Waters will help shape future approaches to transparency and public engagement, supporting preparations for future investment programmes and helping ensure investment decisions are understood by the people and communities they are intended to benefit.
What’s next for Clear Waters?
The partnership will continue to develop and test new ways to help people better understand environmental improvements and track progress over time. Priorities include improving access to information, exploring how different sources of environmental data can be used together, and ensuring information is presented in ways that meet the needs of different audiences.
Get involved
The Clear Waters partnership is planning activity over the autumn. If you'd like to be involved, please contact clearwaters@ofwat.gov.uk.
seen at 16:46, 13 August in Environment Agency: For homes and habitats..