Speaking at an emergency drought summit attended by Water Companies, Businesses, Wildlife Groups and Non-Govermental Organisations (NGO) Ms Spelman said that she called the summit as “ensuring we have enough water this summer is vitally important”.

This follows an official announcement that the South East is now officially in drought, largely the result of another year of below average rainfall and successive dry winters.

As part of the summit key water industry players met to decide what actions need to be taken to limit the impact of drought in the future and were urged by the Environment Secretary to find ways of reducing water waste and water usage.

Speaking after the summit at Defras headquarters Ms Spelman stated ” Drought is already an issue this year with the South East, Anglia and other parts of the UK now officially in drought, and more areas are likely to be affected as we continue to experience a prolonged period of very low rainfall. It is not just the responsibility of the government, water companies and businesses to act against drought, we are asking for the help of everyone by urging them to use less water and to start now”.

During the summit an in depth analysis of the current drought situation and the ensuing effects on the environment was provided by the Environment Agency (EA) which is expected to publish its latest drought prospects report. According to the EA the report aims to help water companies, farmers and other water abstractors plan for the year ahead, and sets our clear actions that these groups should take to help manage the country’s valuable water supplies.

As a result of the summit water companies at high risk of drought have pledged to take action to reduce water wastage and increase leakage detection as well as engage their customers to use water wisely.

Consultancy Atkin’s technical director for strategy assessment and management Ben Piper described the drought summit as “a good step in working out the measures needed to manage the impacts of drought in parts of England this summer. In addition to immediate short-term responses to combat the treat of drought problems this summer the water industry also needs to build on the proposals in the Water White Paper and other initiatives to reform the industry and work towards a sustainable medium and longer term response. The on going and worsening drought conditions may well trigger more emphasis on the scope and speed of reforms which could include more incentives for water trading, metering and other demand management measures”.

Meanwhile the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) water panel chair Michael Norton said ” If we are to avoid the spectre of drought becoming an annual event we must urgently change or approach to water management, taking a more strategic overview and focusing on preventing measures for addressing scarcity before it gets to drought stage. Introducing demand management measures, improving interconnectivity between water companies and better and more imaginative methods of storing winter water would be a good start to safe-guarding this precious resource for the future”.

Currently only businesses using more than 50 mega litres of water a year can switch suppliers, the proposed change would see this threshold dramatically reduced to 5 mega litres increasing the number of eligible businesses in England from 2,200 to 26,000.

The change which is subject to parliamentary approval is an amendment to the Water Industry Act 1991. Commenting on the proposals environment minister Richard Benyon said “This change will allow a huge number of extra businesses to search out better water deals by switching supplier if their current supply does not work for them. It also highlights the Governments firm commitment to help businesses and stimulate the economy”.

Ofwat chief executive Regina Finn welcomed the proposed changes which she described as “a step in the right direction and good news for qualifying businesses who will welcome greater choice during difficult economic times”.

While Dame Yve Buckland, the chair of the Consumer Council for Water said “This will be good news for many business customers who are currently frustrated by the lack of progress of competition in water. The important thing now is to get the system working for those customers who can switch and will need to have the confidence that they can easily and seamlessly change supplier”.

Sustain claims that schools could save approx. £130m by implementing basic utility saving measures while the NHS could save up to £150m through energy efficiency measures, this money it argues could then be spent on front line services.

Sustain’s head of low carbon buildings Matt Fulford said ” The kinds of measures hospitals and schools could easily adopt are tried and tested ones which have been proven to work. These include changing lamps in existing light fittings, making sure existing heating systems are running well and temperature settings are in place to reduce running time, and insulating buildings and boiler rooms”.

Sustain in partnership with the British Institue of Facilities Management (BIFM) is now calling on facilities managers responsible for ebery use in buildings to consider the potential efficiencies in energy and water through well planned programmes of effective measures.

BIFM energy policy advisor Bill Wright said ” Energy and water costs are straight off the bottom line and even simple changes to building operation of the installation of energy and water efficient equipment can deliver major savings”.

If approved by the Water Industry Commission for Scotland, this will allow the company to provide water and sewerage services to Non-domestic customers north of the border.

The firms interim management statement said STS expected to deliver better performance in the second half than the first, but no significant upturn before the next financial year.

The group which also holds Severn Trent Water (STW) completed a £ 250 million 30 year bond last month at a coupon of 4.875%. STW reported operating expenditure in line with the boards expectations and below the level permitted by Ofwat in its price determination. It said net capital expenditure was likely to be between £ 450 million and £ 470 million not including costs associated with the adoption of private sewers in October. The private sewer transfer workload it said was at the lower end of the initial range of expectations. The company maintained it did not plan to introduce usage restrictions this year and is working to improve supply resilience.

As part of the “Reasons to Believe” sustainability report which follows GRI sustainability reporting guidelines “water stewardship” is one of four key areas focused on by Coca-Cola.

According to Coca-Cola the GRI has been publised in a digital format in a bid to increase transparency and sustainability of its operations and follows the key performance indicators set by the GRI.

Coca-Cola chief sustainability officer Beatriz Perez stated ” After receiving feedback from a variety of stakeholders we decided to make some significant changes to our sustainability reporting efforts. In addition to increasing transparency within the content we have taken a digital approach to make the report more user friendly and accessible on a variety of mobile devices. As we continue to strengthen our sustainability efforts we also will innovate the means by which we share our progress”.

The report states “Solid progress” has been made towards meeting water efficiency targets, with figures showing it has improved its water ratio by 16% compared to a 2004 baseline. As well as improving water efficiency for the eighth consecutive year figures show Coca-Cola replenished or offset 23% of the water used in production in 2010.

As a result Coca-Cola has also projected a 20% improvement in water efficiency by the end of 2012, which it says supports a long-term goal of becoming “Water neutral” by 2020.

In addition Coca-Cola is looking to improve water quality through wastewater recycling with figures showing that in 2010 90% of plants complied with wastewater treatment and discharge standards with a target in place to achieve 100% compliance by the end of 2012.

The water company pled guilty to 35 separate incidents at Newport Magistrates Court (September 22) and received fines relating to activity on the River Usk between May 16 and July 2011 under section 21 (1) of the Water Resources act in a breach of its licence.

As a result the company were fined £ 2,000 and ordered to pay £ 4,000 in costs, plus a £ 15 victim surcharge.

Welsh Water has a licence to abstract a maximum of 318,220m3 a day from the river, depending on river flow, however on one of the incidents Welsh Water exceeded its water licence by 683% when it over-abstracted large volumes of water at its Prioress Mill pumping station, while on another occasion more than 50% of the rivers flow was abstracted.

According the the Environment Agency Wales (EAW) in total there were seven separate occasions on which abstraction should not have taken place at all and 28 days on which over abstraction took place. A spokesperson for EAW stated ” Our licences balance the needs of people and the environment and wildlife, the Usk is a prime river for Salmon and Sea Trout and we have limits in place designed to make sure there is enough water for their migration upstream whilst protecting water supplies. In this case these limits were ignored and the environment was put at risk, we will not hesitate to take action against breaches of this kind. Last year when we were potentially seeing some parts of Wales reaching drought conditions the company were at times taking half the flow of the River Usk when they should not have been abstracting”.

Welsh Water apologised for the calculation failures but said it did not breach its annual abstraction limit.

Speaking to edieWater a spokesperson for Welsh Water “We are sorry this breach occurred, it was a mistake and not the result of a deliberate wish to breach our abstraction licence, we have now installed a fail-safe system to ensure that mistakes about how much we can abstract from the Usk on any one day cannot recur”.

According to the latest EA figures which show that more than 590 miles of rivers have had their water levels and flows restored with on average 55bn litres of water each year being returned to the UK’s rivers. But the EA warned that further action is still required to reduce the amount of water taken from an additional 210 sites across England and Wales. As a result it is calling on businesses to use water more resourcefully and implement water saving initiatives where possible.

EA head of water land and biodiversity Ian Barker stated ” There is still a lot to do and it will require businesses to use water more efficiently, reducing the amount they take from rivers that are under pressure. Water is a precious resource and we have to use it wisely, the amount of water used by business and people is directly linked to the amount of water there is in our rivers for fish and other wildlife”

The EA said the move to tighten abstraction licenses comes as parts of England prepare for drought this summer after an “exceptionally dry winter which has left rivers and groundwater low” adding that “pressure on water resources is set to increase”.

Following plans set out in Water White Paper “Water for Life” the EA has also launched a a “Restoring Sustainable Abstraction” programme in a bid to protect water levels.

In addition, funding has been secured by the EA to help water companies improve water levels and quality at 150 sites by 2015.

Environment Minister Richard Benyon stated ” We have seen over the last year the problems that a lack of water can create, environment damage caused when rivers run low, farmers unable to irrigate their crops and some water companies taking steps to protect water supplies”.

The increase which takes effect from April 1st 2012 will take the average household bill to £ 376 per annum.

Ofwat CEO Regina Finn explained that inflation was at the root of the price rise but that customers would feel the benefits longer term “ When we set limits on prices we listened to customers, they told us they wanted bills kept down, while maintaining safe reliable water  supplies. We challenged companies hard to deliver this and our decision meant that before inflation the average bills would remain broadly stable between 2010 and 2015. We understand that any bill rise is unwelcome, particularly in tough economic times. Inflation feeds through into water bills and this is driving these rises, we will make sure customers get value for money. Companies are investing £22bn by 2015 more than £ 935 for every property within England and Wales. This will deliver benefits to us all from continuing to improve reliability of supplies to cleaner rivers and beaches. If companies don’t deliver on their investment promises we will take action”.

Southern Water customers will see the biggest price rise for combined water and sewerage at £ 31, representing 8.2% rise, however Bristol Water will see the largest overall increase for water only at 8.8% or £ 15.

Conversely Dwr Cymru will see the smallest charge for water and sewerage customers at 3.8% or £ 16 per year, while Veolia Central customers will benefit from the smallest increase for water only at just 1.8% or £3 per year.

Utilyx provides a number of services relating to its clients’ energy demands including strategic planning, procurement and risk management, all of which are designed to manage the business impact of energy consumption and rising energy costs.

The acquisition of Utilyx will complement and enhance MITIE’s existing CarbonCare energy services capabilities. The energy services market is significant for MITIE, with 35% of the Group’s revenues derived in this area.  MITIE is ranked as the second largest energy services company in the UK, providing a full range of integrated services that help its clients manage their energy use and carbon footprint. MITIE’s energy services proposition supports all the key energy issues facing businesses and public sector organisations across the UK.  These include business continuity through security of energy supply, value through cost reduction, reduction of carbon emissions and renewable energy.

As a leading consultant on corporate carbon and energy strategy, Utilyx counts a range of major UK energy users among its clients, from the industrial, commercial and public sectors. Utilyx has excellent high-level working relationships with numerous blue-chip companies including Scottish Water, Iceland and McDonald’s. It has excellent strategic relationships across the fast-growing energy services market and also provides specialist services to generators and developers of renewable energy projects.

Established in 2000, Utilyx purchases a significant proportion of the UK corporate energy market on behalf of its clients.  The business has a deserved reputation for excellence and innovation, having introduced a number of new products and concepts to the market, including flexible risk managed electricity purchasing, open-book agreements and end-user Power Purchase Agreements. 

Utilyx has annualised revenues of over £7m and is well placed to support MITIE’s progress in the growing energy services market in the UK. The total consideration for the acquisition will be up to £16.2m. Initial consideration of £15m was paid in cash on completion and the balance (capped at a maximum additional payment of £1.2m) will be paid in cash, dependent on future business performance. The proforma EBITDA of Utilyx is £1.7m and it is expected the acquisition will be earnings neutral in the first year of ownership.

Ruby McGregor-Smith CBE, Chief Executive, MITIE Group PLC, commenting on the transaction, said: “We are delighted to have acquired Utilyx. There is no doubt that the need for all organisations to use fewer natural resources is changing our marketplace. Energy management is integral to what we do and this acquisition forms part of our considerable investment to further develop MITIE’s energy services capability.

“We are very pleased to welcome the management team and all the employees to MITIE.”

Chris Bowden, Chief Executive Officer of Utilyx added: “We are excited by the opportunity this presents for us and our clients. The energy sector is fast-moving and by bringing together our expertise and experience, we will be in an even stronger position to help our clients meet the challenges and opportunities that the new low-carbon economy provides.”

The Water for Life paper which was originally scheduled for release in July sets out plans to reform the UK water industry in line with meeting increasing environmental and water stress demands.

Speaking at the White Paper launch the Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman warned that Britain is already facing water scarcity in some areas and environment damage as a result of over abstraction. Key points in the paper outlined measures to expand competition for business customers among water companies, Ms Spelman also stated that she wants to knock down barriers stopping new businesses getting into the water market.

In addition, she added that severe weather events, population growth and the need to grow more food have all put more pressure on water supplies and will continue to do so. Ms Spelman stated ” Currently we enjoy clean water at the turn of a tap and watch it drain away without a thought, but parts of England actually have less rainfall per person than many Mediterranean countries. Making sure we have got enough water for everyone is going to be one of the major challenges this country will have to deal with in the years ahead. We can already see the type of problems we may face with parts of Britain still in drought even though were in December. With water expected to be less predictable as time goes on we all have to play our part in ensuring our water supply remains secure”.

Other key points focused on in the paper include the future challenges faced by the water sector such as maintaining water supplies and water costs. Plans to encourage water efficiency measures under the Green Deal were also introduced as well as a new campaign which aims to encourage water efficiency and get communities on board to help improve the health of local rivers which will launch in the New Year.

Meanwhile plans to introduce a reformed water abstraction regime were covered – slightly at odds with plans to introduce one year abstraction licenses for businesses. According to the paper a draft water bill is set to be published in early 2012 with the introduction of a water bill as soon as parliament allows, while plans to consult on the proposals are expected in early 2013, with the aim of introducing legislation to reform the regime early in the next parliament.

Overall the paper was welcomed with the Environment Agency (EA) saying it “sets out clear objectives for delivering future water management in response to the potential pressures of climate change and population growth”.