Water (Special Measures) Act 2025

A vote to support means

• —Reduces water wastage by giving companies legal tools to fix leaks faster and meet strict leakage reduction targets, addressing the fact that billions of litres are lost daily through aging infrastructure
• —Enables rapid investment in water treatment facilities and pipe replacement without lengthy planning delays, potentially improving supply security during droughts and extreme weather
• —Strengthens consumer protections by requiring companies to meet enforceable standards for water quality and emergency response times, with penalties for non-compliance
• —Allows temporary demand management measures (such as hosepipe bans) to be implemented quickly during genuine shortages, protecting long-term water availability for essential needs

A vote to oppose means

• —May increase household water bills significantly to fund infrastructure upgrades, placing financial burden on families already facing cost-of-living pressures, with no guarantees of bill caps
• —Grants water companies expanded emergency powers with limited parliamentary oversight, potentially allowing restrictions on water use that disproportionately affect vulnerable households or small businesses
• —Addresses symptoms rather than root causes by focusing on demand restrictions instead of requiring companies to modernise outdated systems they have neglected for decades
• —Creates vague enforcement mechanisms that could allow companies to avoid penalties through delayed compliance, without sufficient independent monitoring or automatic financial compensation for affected customers