Across the last nine posts, I’ve laid out the evidence: the personal struggles, the foreign ownership, the billions siphoned off in dividends, the cost-shifting to insurers, the failure of regulators, and the reforms we urgently need. But evidence alone is not enough. Change will not come unless the public demands it. This final post is a call to action.
Step 1: Demand Your Data
Every customer has the legal right to know what their water company, insurer, and regulators hold about them.
- Submit a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) to your water company and insurer.
- Use Freedom of Information (FOI) and Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) to request data from regulators and councils.
- Share the results. Each disclosure adds to the growing picture of how the industry really operates.
One request is powerful. A thousand requests are unstoppable.
Step 2: Hold Them to Account
Don’t let misleading claims go unchallenged:
- Report false or misleading adverts (like “Save Water”) to the Advertising Standards Authority.
- Raise concerns about unfair treatment with Trading Standards.
- Submit complaints to the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) if you’ve been mistreated.
The system counts on silence. Break it.
Step 3: Push the Regulators
Regulators only act under pressure:
- Write to Ofwat demanding action on leakage, sewage spills, and dividends.
- Contact the Environment Agency to demand enforcement on pollution.
- Urge the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to review the monopoly structure of water supply.
Make it clear that customers are no longer willing to be ignored.
Step 4: Expose the Cost Shifting
If your water company told you a leak or damage was “your responsibility,” document it.
- Share your story publicly.
- Inform your insurer that this is part of a wider pattern.
- Submit complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) if your insurer unfairly denies cover.
The more stories collected, the harder it is for companies to deny the truth.
Step 5: Demand Political Action
Water is essential. It is time politicians treated it that way.
- Write to your MP demanding reform, transparency, and consideration of non-profit or public ownership models.
- Support campaigns calling for renationalisation or Glas Cymru–style models.
- Push for legislation that bans dividends until performance improves.
Politicians respond to pressure. Make them feel it.
Step 6: Act Together
The real power lies in collective action:
- Join or form local groups to coordinate DSARs, FOIs, and complaints.
- Share templates and resources so everyone can act with ease.
- Build a national archive of evidence that the media and regulators cannot ignore.
The Verdict
We have seen enough. The evidence is clear. The current water system is broken — draining our wallets, poisoning our rivers, and enriching overseas investors while customers are left powerless. But customers are not powerless. The law gives us tools. The collective gives us strength. The future gives us urgency.
💧 Takeaway: The time for frustration is over. It’s time for action. Demand your data, challenge false claims, push regulators, expose cost-shifting, pressure politicians, and act together. Our water system belongs to us — it’s time we took it back.