New legislation that came into force on 1 April 2026 makes senior water company executives personally liable for criminal prosecution if their companies commit serious water quality or environmental offences. It is the most significant change to water sector accountability in England and Wales in decades.
The Water (Special Measures) Act 2024 introduced a package of new enforcement powers that largely came into effect on 1 April 2026. The centrepiece is the extension of criminal liability to individual executives, not just corporate entities, for specified water quality and pollution offences.
What the new rules say
Under the new provisions, senior managers — defined to include chief executives, chief financial officers, and board-level directors responsible for operational compliance — can face prosecution where a criminal offence is committed by their company and it can be shown that the offence occurred with their consent, connivance, or was attributable to their neglect.
This reverses the previous position where criminal liability was almost exclusively corporate. The maximum sentence for individual executives under the new provisions is two years' imprisonment plus an unlimited fine.
The fit-and-proper-person test
The Act also introduces a statutory fit-and-proper-person test for water company executives and board members. Ofwat has been given powers to remove individuals who fail the test — which assesses financial probity, management competence, and track record on compliance.
The government has indicated that executives at companies with repeated DWI enforcement notices, multiple pollution incidents, or a history of misreporting data could face challenge under the test.
The pipes MOT regime
A separate provision introduces what ministers have informally called an "MOT for pipes" — a statutory inspection and reporting regime for water mains that must be filed with Ofwat annually from April 2026. Companies must report on the age, condition, and planned replacement schedule of their primary distribution networks.
The context is stark: Anglian Water and South West Water have both faced enforcement action in recent years linked partly to ageing infrastructure. South West Water's Brixham cryptosporidium outbreak in 2024 was connected to deficiencies in monitoring and infrastructure maintenance that the new regime is intended to prevent.
What this means for customers
The changes are unlikely to affect your water quality in the short term — that depends on your specific supply zone. But the accountability framework means that persistent failures are now more likely to result in consequences that go beyond regulatory fines. Use your postcode to see whether your zone has any active DWI improvement notices.
Source: Water (Special Measures) Act 2024; Ofwat implementation guidance April 2026; DEFRA press release April 2026.