ARCHIVE: Key areas covered by the Act

Key features of the Act:

To give the Environment Agency an overview of all flood and coastal erosion risk management and unitary and county councils the lead in managing the risk of all local floods.
To introduce an improved risk based approach to reservoir safety.
To encourage the uptake of sustainable drainage systems by removing the automatic right to connect to sewers and providing for unitary and county councils to adopt SUDS for new developments and redevelopments.
To widen the list of uses of water that water companies can control during periods of water shortage, and enable Government to add to and remove uses from the list.
To enable water and sewerage companies to operate concessionary schemes for community groups on surface water drainage charges.
To reduce ‘bad debt’ in the water industry by amending the Water Industry Act 1991 to provide a named customer and clarify who is responsible for paying the water bill.
To make it easier for water and sewerage companies to develop and implement social tariffs where companies consider there is a good cause to do so, and in light of guidance that will be issued by the SoS following a full public consultation.

Page last modified: 9 April 2010
Page published: 21 April 2009

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