What next for water?
England\u2019s water companies are under fire \u2013 there\u2019s public anger over sewage spills and leaks, and now regulators and government ministers are worried some of them are drowning in too much debt. So what\u2019s gone wrong, and who will pay the price of fixing the industry?
On the face of it, running a water company seems like a licence to print money \u2013 there\u2019s guaranteed revenue, and no competition \u2013 but there\u2019s a lot of infrastructure to build and maintain, and strict targets that are getting even tougher and more expensive to hit as environmental concerns grow.
Many of England\u2019s water firms have taken on very high levels of debt, but have they used it to invest, or pay off their shareholders? And does the regulator, Ofwat, have questions to answer for strangling spending on improvements in a bid to keep customer prices low?
Evan Davis is joined by:
Nicola Shaw, CEO, Yorkshire Water;\nSir Ian Byatt, Ofwat Director General from 1989 to 2000;\nVerity Mitchell, UK analyst at Global Water Intelligence.
PRODUCTION TEAM:
Producer: Simon Tulett\nEditor: China Collins\nSound: Graham Puddifoot and Mike Woolley\nProduction co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
Produced in partnership with The Open University.