Cambridge Water’s performance is a ‘risk to the environment’ say regulators

A water company has been told to improve “as a priority” as its performance is a risk to the environment and to the security of supplies.

Cambridge Water has also been warned that its performance “has implications for further proposed development in the area”.

It is the second consecutive year the company has received a joint letter from regulators Ofwat, the Environment Agency and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) following its annual review.

The letter states: “Cambridge Water faces significant challenges across its single water resource zone. It must supply a growing demand for water from population growth and nationally and internationally important businesses, whilst doing more to reduce the impact of its abstractions on the environment.

“It must manage supplies, prevent deterioration in status of water bodies, and protect vital chalk streams and other protected sites.”

It goes on to say: “Cambridge Water should work to improve the data for all metrics as a priority. Your current performance is a risk to the environment and security of supply.

The letter, along with those sent to other water companies, has been published on the Ofwat website.

City councillor Jean Glasberg (Green, Newnham) said: “These letters make shocking reading. They provide the detail behind the recent national publicity on the scandalous failure of the water industry.”

The Cam Valley Forum is also “deeply alarmed” by the “enduring political inaction” on the poor state of both “our river’s water flows, our river water quality and the water supply sources for both ourselves and our natural environment”.

It said of Cambridge Water: “Their unpreparedness is illustrated by the fact that Cambridge Water is presently in deep difficulty as their Water Resources Management Plan (2024) has not yet been accepted. Their water grid leakage rate is still too high, their meter coverage is inadequate, and they do not yet have enough control of unmetered usage. To the outsider it is clear that there is no more water to spare for the environment.”

The regulators say that despite warnings, Cambridge Water is still not addressing the challenge of supplying the rising need for water nor has it reduced the impact of its abstractions on the environment, including harm to chalk streams.

Cambridge Water’s 2025 draft Water Resources Management Plan has still not been approved by Defra.

The letter explains how, in 2019, Cambridge Water forecast the improvements it would have made by 2024, and shows that these have not been achieved.

Key failures include: interruptions in supply (72 per cent above the forecast), delay in installing water meters and leakage from pipes.

“Cambridge Water is not on track to meet the WRMP24 starting position for its supply-demand balance (SDB) in April 2025. This is concerning given proposed growth in housing and non-household demand in your supply area,” the letter says, adding that it is the third time a deficit has been reported by the company over the seventh Asset Management Period, which runs from 2020 to 2025.

The company has until 29 November to explain the action it will take.

“The fundamental problem is the assumption by all involved that economic growth and the development of new high-value industries must go ahead,” said Cllr Glasberg. “We must pause the approval of large developments until there is evidence the water crisis can be resolved. The EA’s objections to recently-approved planning applications were correct, and Cambridge Water must move much faster.”

A spokesperson for Cambridge Water said they will be publishing a full response to the letter on November 29.

The spokesperson said: “Cambridge Water has delivered the largest leakage reductions in the sector over the last four years. We are also proud to have the lowest per capita consumption (PCC) in the country, at circa 120 litres per day. Our work in this space is best evidenced by our award-nominated Can for the Cam and Yes We Cam campaigns, both of which have significantly reduced PCC in Cambridge. We have seen significant growth in non-household demand for water, as Cambridge develops its scientific and technology sectors. This increase is higher than the forecasts we made for our Water Resources Management Plan 2019, by around 20 per cent.

“Cambridge Water have plans to start universal metering from April 2025, which will ensure all domestic properties are fitted with a meter by 2030 (excepting properties where one cannot be fitted such as shared supplies). All of our non-household properties will be fitted with smart meters by 2030, and that will enable us to work with these businesses to identify water efficiencies and leakage and help to make improvements to resolve these.

“We are committed to reducing our abstraction from the chalk streams, and our WRMP24 plan shows we will reduce this by around 26 million litres a day by 2030. We are developing significant new resource schemes across our region, including a transfer of water from Grafham Water and the development of the Fens Reservoir with our neighbours Anglian Water, which will in turn enable further reductions to chalk stream abstraction and ensure water supply for future growth in the region.”