Thread by @BDavisBriz

Looking forward to what should be an informative @APPGwater discussion on surface water management, and how we can improve our flood risk management and river health #APPGWater

Helen Wakeham from @EnvAgency speaks on the challenges currently facing the water sector - notes that storm overflows are currently "dominating the conversation", which means that other work is currently being overlooked #APPGWater

However, Wakely says that this means we are often overlooking the "good news stories" from the sector - be it the reduction of storm overflows, or the positive work that is being done to improve biodiversity and habitat restoration #APPGWater

Looking forward, Wakely says that funding needs to focus on asset maintenance, as well as investing in new assets. She also warns against using "river" as a "catch all" for all water systems, as it overlooks challenges in other types of waterways #APPGWater

Looking at barriers, Wakely says that, historically, stakeholders within the sector have often worked in siloed or adversarial ways. However, she is pleased to see that we are building a "coalition of the willing" to address common issues #APPGWater

Next, @WaterUK's Lucinda Gilfoyle opens her speech by repeating commitments made by water companies to invest in their sewage networks, drainage systems to support bathing water spaces #APPGWater

Gilfoyle notes that water companies will be working more closely with the communities they serve - whether that is supporting bathing water status, or providing toolkits for citizen scientists #APPGWater

Turning to surface water management, Gilfoyle welcomes the Govt's commitment to consult on Schedule 3, but says that we do need further actions to address pressures placed on the network by surface water #APPGWater

In particular, Gilfoyle calls for an end on highways agencies connection to combined sewers, reviewing powers water accompanies have on private properties and stricter regulations around wet wipes & other unflushables #APPGWater

Next, @wessexwater's Matt Wheeldon argues that UK is generally "pretty poor" at rainwater management. He argues that there is an opportunity to make buildings more water efficient, especially by collecting rainwater #APPGWater

Wheeldon says that building regulation needs to be updated in order to ensure rainwater is treated as the valuable resource that it is. He commits to writing to Local Authorities to ensure this is part of their Local Plans #APPGWater

For existing developments, Wheeldon says the challenge will be "even greater" as regulation is voluntary and not strictly enforced #APPGWater

Wheeldon argues that making water companies solely responsible for rainwater management will lead to "suboptimal solutions" as they will invest in downstream solutions such as storage tanks #APPGWater

Instead, Wheeldon says we need to improve legislation to ensure better usage of rainwater as a resource - especially for use in toilets or for cleaning cars etc which does not require drinking water #APPGWater

The webinar now moves on to a Q&A session #APPGWater

First Q is on why Govt is not consulting on S3 this year. Wheeldon believes it is due to resourcing. While he welcomes the fact that Govt wishes to learn lessons from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿, he believes the Govt needs to move at faster pace #APPGWater

On affordability, Wheeldon explains how consumers currently do not pay the full cost for water - e.g. the standing charge is often used to cross-subsidise local authorities for sewage management. Argues moving this across to Council Tax would give a clearer picture #APPGWater

However, while Wheeldon is clear that consumer bills may need to increase to meet these investments, this should be countered by increasing support for vulnerable customers #APPGWater

Gilfoyle gives her support to the concept of a Single Social Tariff. On investments, she says it is not all about consumer bills, and highlights how water companies are putting up their own money to make the necessary investments #APPGWater

Returning to the Q on S3 consultation, Waverly says that she imagines the delay is due to resourcing & complexity of issues. However, she is surprised by the delay due to commitments to implement S3 in the Plan For Water #APPGWater

On investment, Waverly advocates taking a longer term view - saying that investment in concrete infrastructure might be "the quickest thing to do", it may not be the right thing to do long-term to fix underlying issues in a catchment #APPGWater

Responding to a Q on how consumers can be more water efficient without compromising human health (dehydration or poor hygiene), Gilfoyle sets out Water UK's #WatersWorthSaving campaign & water companies all having their own campaigns to promote water efficiency #WaterUK

Wheeldon says we need to have "sensible conversations" about water conservation - noting the "unfair criticism" Thames Water's Cathryn Ross received for advising flushing 🚽s less often #APPGWater

Wheeldon repeats his call for more creative use of rainwater - arguing that it is very easy to retrofit rainwater butts to help people conserve rainwater for watering plants, for example #APPGWater

More broadly, Wheeldon says water efficiency cannot be the sole responsibility of the water sector - notes that Govt spends significant money on energy efficiency campaigns, but has not done the same for water efficiency #APPGWater

Waverly also says the "noise" around Storm Overflows prevents conversations linking the impact of surface water management or river abstraction on storm overflows, leading to smaller micro-interventions rather than longer-lasting investments #APPGWater

On what lessons the water sector can learn from the energy sector in terms of a #SocialTariff, Gilfoyle says she is sure there are lessons that can be learned from the energy sector's experience #APPGWater

Wheeldon highlights how - unlike energy, which is broken down by Electricity and Gas, water bills lump drinking water, wastewater and rainwater management all under one title, which is kept comparatively low #APPGWater

This, Wheeldon argues, makes it harder for people to realise where their money is going and means we do not value it enough. By breaking bills down into their constituent parts, he believes it will encourage consumer behavioural change to become more water efficient #APPGWater

Next Q is on how to better manage rainwater. Gilfoyle for water companies to have the power to discharge clean rainwater into water courses. Both she & Wheeler call for greater scrutiny of highway discharges #APPGWater

One attendee suggests greater clarity around how dividends are paid to shareholders, for example, putting on consumer bills what rate of returns are. Baroness Pickering agrees more needs to be done to make this understandable to consumers #APPGWater

Gilfoyle acknowledges that there is a desire for consumers to be better educated on these issues. She repeats she believes it was right for water companies to apologise, but also stresses there has been a "heated" topic for several years #APPGWater

Next Q is on the cost of inaction. Wheeldon argues that communities most vulnerable to flooding are already seeing the cost of inaction, and that we "cannot wait until everyone has experienced it before we act" #APPGWater

Wheeldon argues that we need stronger and clearer "top down guidance" in order to ensure we are building more sustainable and innovative solutions, rather than "the lowest-cost version" #APPGWater

Gilfoyle agrees, saying that there needs to be more incentives for innovation within the sector, rather than the "low-cost, short-term" solutions #APPGWater

Waverly suggests that there needs to be greater public involvement in decision-making, so that locals can understand the options and trade-offs of different proposals #APPGWater

Very interesting conversation on the challenges & opportunities for better surface water management. Thanks to Helen Wakenham, Lucinda Gilfoyle & Matt Wheeldon for your insights, to @AnneCMcIntosh & @LizTwistMP for chairing & @APPGwater for hosting! #APPGWater

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