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Introduction

The water industry was privatised in 1989 pursuant to the Water ACT 1989. The regulatory regime for the privatised water industry is Principally set out in the Water Industry Act 1991 (WIA 1991), and amendments made to that Act (notably in 2003 and 2014). Water abstraction licensing was introduced in the 1960s; the licensing regime is principally set out in the Water Resources Act 1991 (WRA 1991) and enables regulators to act to protect the Environment and the needs of water users. The legislative regime providing for flood risk management by the government and other public authorities is set out in various pieces of legislation; the principal primary legislation relating to the powers and duties of internal drainage boards is the Land Drainage Act 1991.

The Water Act 2014 (WA 2014) introduced several reforms to help make the water industry more innovative and responsive to customers including:

1. •

   expansion of the water supply licensing regime

2. •

   introduction of new sewerage licences

3. •

   the creation of a cross-border retail market between England, Wales and Scotland

4. •

   removing the thresholds setting