Water for public benefit

In this episode we are talking about water sector reform with Mark Thurston, chief executive of Anglian Water, arguably one of the most progressive and innovative water companies in the UK.

Not without its problems and critics of course, but Anglian is certainly one water company that has really taken on the challenge to work with its supply chain to boost infrastructure productivity and cut out carbon.

Mark joined Anglian in July 2024 having previously spent nearly seven years at the helm of the challenging and controversial HS2 project – the subject of our last conversation for the Podcast when he joined me back in 2023 for Episode 5.

No question, it’s a challenging time for the water sector. After years of public anger over sewage spills, service failures and rising bills, the water industry in England and Wales is facing a once-in-a-generation reckoning.

That moment crystallised last summer with the final report of the Independent Water Commission, chaired by Sir Jon Cunliffe. This pulled no punches and in it 88 recommendations called for sweeping reform: replacing Ofwat with a single integrated regulator, creating regional water planning authorities, mandating water metering, and embedding a new “public benefit” duty into company licences.

At the same time, Ofwat’s latest price review has demanded a step-change in asset renewal, resilience to climate change, and service performance - all while keeping water affordable and the sector investable. The stakes could hardly be higher.

Without action, the country faces a potential shortfall of around a third of today’s public water supply by 2050. Right now, Anglian is responding with plans to deliver new reservoirs in Lincolnshire and the Cambridgeshire Fens, and battling to unlock delivery without compromising environmental protection or public trust.

So Mark finds himself once again at the heart of the infrastructure challenge. But his background perhaps brings rare experience of leading mega-projects under intense public and political scrutiny - experience that I’d say the water sector urgently needs right now.

So let’s explore those challenges.

Resources