Supplementary written evidence submitted
by the Environment Agency
Thank you for your email of 21 October 2010
requesting further information to assist with your inquiry into
future flood and water management legislation. We undertook to
provide you with additional information and we welcome this opportunity
to respond to your questions.
(1A) Does opening the market to competition
pose any risks to the ability of the Environment Agency and other
agencies to promote the holistic management of water resources?
Any change to the way water is managed will
introduce new risks, but also opportunities. We will work with
Defra, WAG and Ofwat to ensure that competition improves water
management, whilst protecting the environment and water users
and to ensure that effective water resources planning and drought
planning can still take place.
However, the potential options for future competition
in water are still being developed, and will need to be assessed
carefully for use and others to understand any potential risks
and opportunities for mitigation.
(1B) Do you agree with the assumption
that trading and competition, in more effectively assigning a
value to water, will deliver the most sustainable option for water
resources?
The wider use of market forces through trading
and competition has the potential to reveal the value of water
more effectively than the current system of management cost recovery.
29 October 2010
| 
