Independent Water Commission: views from our experts

So how and why could this dramatic improvement happen?

We’ve gathered thoughts from across our team about what the Independent Water Commission has got right, and what must happen next to ensure it is not another missed opportunity for rivers. But first, here’s a summary of the report’s key recommendations:

• National strategy: The UK Government will set the strategic direction for the water sector in England, and the Welsh Government will retain the same national oversight in Wales. Each country will have a National Water strategy covering all sectors that impact the environment, and a combined ministerial statement of water industry priorities.
• Regulatory Overhaul: In England, Ofwat, the Drinking Water Inspectorate, and parts of the Environment Agency should be replaced by a single water regulator. In Wales, Ofwat’s economic oversight should be integrated into Natural Resources Wales.
• Regional Planning: In recognition of the ‘missing middle’, nine new regional water authorities (eight in England, one in Wales) should take over planning from water companies and regulators, including directing long-term investment, setting objectives, and engaging local stakeholders.
• Consumer Protections: A national social tariff should be established to support low-income households, and the Consumer Council for Water should expand to become a formal ombudsman.
• Environmental and Monitoring Reforms: Stricter rules on water abstraction, sludge, and drinking water standards should be applied and enforced. Digital monitoring and public data access should be mandatory.
• Governance and Oversight: The new regulators should have powers to block ownership changes in water companies and enforce environmental compliance.
• Public Health Focus: Health should be embedded in water legislation, regulation and planning, with public health officials represented on the new regional planning authorities.

Regulatory reform has undoubtedly received the most attention of all the report’s recommendations. On this, Mark Lloyd is keen to stress that implementation is key to making this change a successful one:

What about other recommendations?

The Rivers Trust works on a huge variety of water-related issues which will be affected by the changes proposed in the Cunliffe Report, so let’s hear from some of our team members on their key takeaways:

Rob Collins, Director of Policy & Science

“I’m really pleased to see the report acknowledge the challenges posed by chemical pollution of our aquatic environments, including the widespread concerns over the contamination of sewage sludge that is applied to agricultural land. I also strongly support the call to explore extended producer responsibility to fund wastewater treatment, and note that the European Commission’s recent revision of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive now requires the producers of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics to contribute to the costs of treatment in alignment with the ‘polluter pays’ principle.

“However, the report pays scarce attention to the urgent need to tackle chemicals ‘at source’; once they are released into the environment it is so much harder – and much costlier – to tackle them, and we need to do so much more to prevent their release in the first place. Here we need to see strong action from our government, however, unfortunately there is now plenty of clear evidence of a divergence between the UK and EU chemical regulatory regimes, as the EU pushes ahead with plans to tackle PFAS and endocrine disrupting chemicals.”

Lorna Mann, Project Communications Officer – Mainstreaming Nature-Based Solutions

“There’s a lot to like in the Water Commission report, especially on the need for a clearer, more integrated strategic direction for water nationally and the new regional bodies responsible for water planning and governance. I’m glad to see the report encourage more regulatory flexibility to allow for greater use of nature-based solutions, although as communications lead for our Mainstreaming Nature-Based Solutions project, we would have loved to see more emphasis on all the benefits of NBS, not just focussing on cost.”

Michelle Walker, Technical Director

“As someone who has been calling for an increase in water monitoring after two decades of decline, I was delighted to see the Commission call for water monitoring to be strengthened and for multiple sources of data to be integrated. It’s absolutely right that we need a monitoring approach that makes better use of technologies such as continuous water quality monitoring sensors, satellite data and AI, that includes rigorous testing for emerging chemical pollutants and that empowers local communities by supporting robust citizen science.”

Tessa Wardley, Director of Communications & Advocacy

“There is much to like in the Commission’s report but, as ever, the challenge is how the government picks that up and delivers the quite fundamental changes as quickly as possible. We don’t have time to lose in restoring our water environment and making communities and nature resilient for the future. The Commission was fairly light in detail on legislative reform but did call for a full review, with a welcome nudge towards more consideration of chemicals, emerging pollutants, and public health. We know that the principles of the Water Framework Directive are strong but that it has been poorly implemented, and the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive has driven improvements but is now falling behind changes that have gone through in Europe. We want to ensure that legislation is retained and strengthened so that we don’t fall behind our European neighbours and earn a nickname as the dirty man of Europe again.”

Alisdair Naulls, Engagement & Communities Lead

“I was most interested in how the Cunliffe Review talked about public health and community. The report affirms that clean water is essential to public health – and we should extend that to wellbeing too. With sewage spills so much in the news, it’s clear that rivers matter. They’re places to relax, play, and connect with nature, and to build community health and action around. With support, local communities play a crucial role in looking after rivers and create a virtuous circle. A river cared for – be it through litter picks, water quality testing, balsam bashing or public outreach – - brings benefits for all involved.”