UK Pledges Consumer Champion for Scandal-Ridden Water Sector
Treated effluent flowing into the River Irwell from the Bolton Wastewater Treatment Works in Bolton, UK, on June 24.
Photographer: Christopher Furlong/Getty ImagesBritain will set up a new office to investigate consumer complaints against water companies as part of a “root and branch” overhaul of a sector in crisis after years of under-investment and pollution scandals.
The proposed water ombudsman would have binding legal powers to resolve disputes, unlike the current “voluntary” system, and bring the sector into line with other utilities, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said in a statement Sunday.