Water Undertaker

Water supply in England and Wales is provided not by government but by private companies operating under statutory appointments. Section 6 of the Water Industry Act 1991 provides that, subject to the Act, a company may be appointed by the Secretary of State, or with Ofwat's consent, 'to be the water undertaker or sewerage undertaker for any area of England and Wales.' The appointment is made 'by service on the company of an instrument in writing containing the appointment and describing the area for which it is made', and it carries with it both statutory duties and statutory powers specific to that function.

Being a water undertaker brings continuing regulatory duties, not just a right to operate. Section 68 of the Act imposes an ongoing duty: 'it shall be the duty of a water undertaker... to ensure that any water so supplied is wholesome at the time of supply', and, so far as reasonably practicable, to prevent deterioration in water quality from its sources over time. Ofwat regulates undertakers' prices, service standards and licensing conditions, and a company's status as the appointed undertaker for an area functions as a regional monopoly, subject to that ongoing regulatory oversight.