The UK faces a daily shortfall of 5 billion litres of fresh water by 2050 due to poor quality infrastructure, the National Audit Office (NAO) has said.
In a report, the public spending watchdog found that the government and regulators have failed to drive sufficient investment in the water sector, which now needs to build 30 new projects at a cost of £52bn to meet future water demand.
In England and Wales, 16 companies manage water supply – with 11 also handling wastewater services – that fall under regulatory oversight to protect public and environmental interests.
But while the UK has one of the highest standards of drinking water in the world, performance has not improved for almost a decade in key measures, including mains bursts, supply interruptions and pollution incidents, the NAO said.
The report, which conducted an audit of the three water regulators (Ofwat, the Environment Agency and the Drinking Water Inspectorate) and Defra, found that the sector now needs to attract “an unprecedented...