Water supply and sanitation in England and Wales

Public water supply and sanitation in England and Wales has been characterised by universal access and generally good service quality. In both England and Wales, water companies became privatised in 1989, although Dwr Cymru operates as a not-for-profit organisation. Whilst independent assessments place the cost of water provision in Wales and England as higher than most major countries in the EU between 1989 and 2005, the government body responsible for water regulation, together with the water companies, have claimed improvements in service quality during that period.

The economic regulator of water companies in England and Wales is the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat). The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) provides independent reassurance to consumers that water supplies in England and Wales are safe and that drinking water is of acceptable quality.

Since Welsh devolution began, further powers over water have been devolved to the Senedd. The Government of Wales Act 2006 (GoWA) devolved multiple water policy powers including water supply, management of water resources including reservoirs, water quality, consumer representation, management of flood risk and coastal protection. The GoWA 2006 was changed by the Wales Act 2017 which includes devolution of water and sewerage powers, and in 2013 Natural Resources Wales became independently responsible for managing water resources in Wales. In 2018, secretary of state for Wales' intervention powers over cross-border water matters were repealed and replaced by the water protocol.