CIWEM signs up to support ‘Clean Water Now’ campaign

04 March 2026

‘Clean Water Now’ – a collective effort to keep the pressure on policymakers for real reform in the water and environmental sector and to ensure the ambition level doesn’t get watered down

There is concern out there in the campaigner world that following the Water White Paper, Independent Water Commission (IWC) and everything else, the forthcoming Water Reform Bill might be laid in parliament in a form which aims to manage the size of the workload for officials over the coming years.

Concern that focus might start to drift from water to other priorities may be rather premature if the reaction to Channel 4’s ‘Filthy Business’ docudrama is anything to go by. Nevertheless, the ‘Clean Water Now’ campaign, a collective effort spearheaded by Wildlife and Countryside Link, advocates for a multi-strand approach that looks beyond just the water industry and its ownership model.

Much like our attendance at 2024’s March for Clean Water, at CIWEM we don’t necessarily subscribe to every single word and detail of the ‘Clean Water Now’ campaign report (which you can read here) and MP e-action.

Systems over syntax

We expect there may be some phraseology contained which might concern some members. However, the thrust of its areas of focus is right. That is:

• Agriculture policy and incentives must target water management measures more overtly. The environment secretary said recently that the single page on tackling agricultural water pollution in the Water White Paper did a lot of heavy lifting. Possibly, but with the white paper really being about the water industry, the other 40% of reasons for English water bodies not achieving good ecological status mustn’t be lost or deprioritised.
• Water industry governance must ensure that water regulators and the companies that they regulate both put the public and the environment at the forefront of their purpose. The campaign is agnostic over ownership models for water companies but calls for more transparency and public agency in their priorities and the way they conduct their business – something that featured in the IWC report but wasn’t very visible in the white paper.
• Chemicals need attention, with producers required to contribute to the costs of cleanup and find more sustainable alternatives, rather than water companies and land remediation relied on to undertake highly expensive and energy intensive treatment. Strong preventative action on PFAS and a water restoration levy, along with strong alignment between UK and EU management approaches align well with polluter pays principles.

Partner organisations for the 'Clean Water Now' campaign

There are other strands to the campaign, particularly around concertedly restoring wetlands and river corridors and tackling invasive non-native species, as well as unlocking the potential of regional water system planning.

Engagement

In essence, it’s a systems-focused campaign that will keep CIWEM’s policy team engaged with the Water Reform Bill as it develops.

The first stage is the opening of an e-action, enabling you to write to your local MP. This will provide a templated, strongly worded letter but you can edit it as you wish. It’s an opportunity to engage your MP on your take as a practitioner on how the new legislation should be focused.

-> You can write to your MP using this link

This isn’t something we’ve done at CIWEM before – though many members have asked about doing so over the years. We’ll be able to collect data showing how many of you have actually reached out to your MP and this can help us understand how important this kind of activity is to you going forward.

The report’s launch event took place on 02 March 2026 in Parliament, and we will keep members informed on the development of the bill and the white paper’s transition plan as they all develop.

If you have any questions or comments about this topic, please do reach out to us at policy@ciwem.org.

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The CIWEM Policy team have shared their overview of the Water White Paper, as well as deep dive (PDF).

Alastair Chisholm is director of policy at CIWEM