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For much of the past 100 years our rivers have been in a state of crisis. Until the 1990s sewage and other pollutants caused the numbers of invertebrates, fish and mammals to plummet. In recent decades water quality has greatly improved but the water industry and other sectors still face considerable challenges to ensure the health of our rivers meets the expectations of 21st century users.

The water industry is continuing to play its part in the delivery of new homes in the UK by maintaining its high standards of services to developers. Levels of service performance were at 98% for water supply and 99% for sewerage for July to September 2016.

Wet wipes are a leading cause of fatbergs and sewer blockages which have a major impact on the environment and contribute to pollution in our rivers and water courses.

Thousands of properties suffer sewer flooding every year in the UK, creating misery for homeowners and businesses, and leading to costly clean-up bills and increased insurance costs.

Sarah Mukherjee, Director of Environment at Water UK, set out how EU policymakers can improve the the link between farms and water policy to protect both farmers and the environment.

The water industry is helping to speed up the building of new homes by meeting its recently introduced standards for providing a range of services to developers over 95% of the time.

Information on water supply to domestic fire sprinkler systems.

Following widespread consultation with developers, self-lay companies and their representative organisations, water companies have introduced a new set of standards for the provision of water and sewerage infrastructure for new homes and other construction projects.

Following an initiative from government late last year, the water sector was quick to establish a scheme to compare companies’ performances relating to delivery of infrastructure. The second performance report was published in October. Related further initiatives include the industry’s own system for measuring customer satisfaction, planned for launch in 2016, and an overhaul of the charging regime made possible by Water Act 2014.

The second quarterly report of developer service standards shows water companies have improved on their overall levels of delivery and performance. The second quarterly figures for water supply have risen from 89% to 93% in response to 125,000 developer requests. For sewerage they are up from 94% to 97% - in response to 9,000 developer requests.

This week Water UK published for the first time an extensive set of statistics relating to the performance of services by water and sewerage companies for their developer customers. Arising from the Government's Better Connected guide, this new quarterly report aims to provide transparency about companies' performance over a wide range of activities, with a view to driving up standards.

Water UK has appointed Sir Brian Bender as its next independent chair. He has taken over from Martin Baggs, Thames Water’s Chief Executive, who has been acting as interim chair following the death of Sir David Rowlands in May 2014.

Water UK has responded to a letter from the Secretary of State to water company CEOs.