Water supply in England and Wales: whose responsibility is it when things go wrong?

Abstract

The privatisation of the UK water sector in 1989 fundamentally altered the risk landscape. Where previously it was the government's responsibility to ensure that water supply met demand, that quality met standards and that the environment was not harmed, now there is a complex landscape within which risks are managed by a variety of stakeholders. The problem is that water management is an inherently risky business, where although it is in the interest of most stakeholders to minimise the risk of water supply failure it is not the responsibility of most stakeholders. It is not, for example, either in the interest of, or the responsibility of, natural ecosystems to minimise the risk of water supply failure. This paper explores the changing nature of risk allocation and distribution in the management of domestic water supply security in England and Wales. In so doing, it examines the extent to which the institutional arrangements under the British model of privatisation have facilitated a risk redistribution culture in the event that ‘things go wrong’.