Independent Water Commission Report 2025: Key Recommendations on Drainage, SuDS & Schedule 3

On 21 July 2025, Sir Jon Cunliffe’s Independent Water Commission released its 465-page final report, outlining 88 wide-ranging recommendations to fundamentally reform the water sector in England and Wales.

What Is the Independent Water Commission Report 2025?

Published in July 2025 and led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, the Independent Water Commission Final Report represents the most comprehensive review of England and Wales’ water sector since privatisation. The Commission was established to address systemic challenges such as ageing infrastructure, storm overflows, fragmented regulation, and declining public trust.

Key Takeaways

• Ofwat to be abolished and replaced with a new consolidated authority combining Ofwat, the Drinking Water Inspectorate, and the water environment functions of the Environment Agency and Natural England.
• In Wales, economic regulatory powers will be embedded into Natural Resources Wales.
• The Environment Agency retains operational flood responsibilities.
• The report focuses on strategic water planning, SuDS, and wastewater regulation, not structural changes to flood risk management.
• Eight regional system planners proposed in England (and one in Wales), coordinated by a national function.
• Independent authorities would include representatives from local councils, public health, environmental groups, agriculture, and consumers.
• Recommendation that SuDS become mandatory on all new developments in England through Schedule 3
• Encouragement to retrofit SuDS in existing properties and public spaces.

New Integrated Regulators

Among the report’s most significant proposals is a fundamental restructuring of water regulation in England, recommending the abolition of Ofwat, something that the government has since confirmed. A new, consolidated authority would be created to merge the responsibilities of the Drinking Water Inspectorate with the water environment functions currently held by the Environment Agency and Natural England. A distinct model is proposed for Wales, where new economic regulatory powers would be incorporated into the existing framework of Natural Resources Wales.

The report states: “We therefore recommend bringing together Ofwat, the Drinking Water Inspectorate, and the water environment functions of the Environment Agency and Natural England into a new organisation in England. In Wales, we propose embedding new economic regulatory responsibilities within Natural Resources Wales.”

The Environment Agency will continue to control operational flood management

Although the Commission recommends transferring the Environment Agency’s water environment functions to the new regulator, its operational flood responsibilities remain unchanged. The report makes it clear that flood risk management sits outside its terms of reference, aside from where it overlaps with strategic planning for water systems.

The report notes: “Operational flood functions would remain in the EA. Flooding is outside of the Commission’s Terms of Reference, other than where it currently interacts with strategic planning for the water system.”

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) will continue to retain all current flood risk functions and environmental regulatory duties.

New Regional Planning Bodies

The report also recommends eight regional planning bodies in England (and one in Wales), overseen by national coordinating function. The new authorities would operate independently, comprising representatives from local councils, public health officials, environmental advocates, agricultural stakeholders, and consumer groups. Their aim would be to direct funding effectively and ensure accountability across all sectors influencing water management.

SuDS 2025 & Schedule 3 Recommendations

The report highlights the benefit of SuDS, stating that a home with sustainable drainage has as little as 13% of rainwater enter the sewage system compared to 100% from a home without SuDS.

The report specifically recommends that Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) should be mandatory on new developments in England. It goes further to say that consideration should be given to retrofitting SuDS in existing properties and in public spaces. The report recommends this be achieved by commencing Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.

The report states: “SuDS in new developments in England should be a mandatory requirement and should be built and maintained to a consistent standard.”

How would Schedule 3 affect future development?

Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 will make sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) mandatory for most new developments in England. It introduces a requirement for developers to obtain approval from a SuDS Approving Body (SAB) before construction begins, ensuring drainage designs meet national standards for managing surface water and reducing flood risk.

At present, the implementation of SuDS in England varies widely between local authorities, with each authority applying its own policies, guidance, and requirements. This patchwork approach often leads to inconsistency, uncertainty, and delays for developers, who must navigate differing expectations depending on the location of a site. Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act will address this by introducing a single set of national standards.

The SAB would consult with:

• Sewerage undertakers whose public sewers are affected
• The Environment Agency, if water discharge into a watercourse is involved
• The relevant highway authority
• The Canal & River Trust, where drainage impacts managed waterways
• Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs), where discharge enters ordinary watercourses within their districts

Some developments will be exempt, such as:

• Permitted development with a footprint of less than 100 square metres
• Works carried out by IDBs under their statutory responsibilities

How SuDS Works in Wales

Wales has already implemented Schedule 3, making SuDS approval mandatory since January 2019. In Wales, all new developments of more than one property or over 100m2 must have drainage systems approved by the local SAB before construction can begin. The SAB assesses whether the proposed SuDS meet national standards for managing surface water, water quality, biodiversity, and amenity. This system has created a consistent and transparent approach across the country, ensuring that new developments are better equipped to manage flood risk and deliver environmental benefits.

The challenge of ‘right to connect’

The report does address the legislative challenges that add pressures to the sewerage systems, one of which being the “right to connect”. In the UK, property owners have a legal right under the Water Industry Act 1991 to connect to public water mains and sewers, provided technical standards are met, notice is given, and any required charges are paid.

The report recommends that the government consider further changes to the existing right to connect, ensuring developers take measures to mitigate the impact of their development on the sewer system before connection, further cementing the recommended importance of SuDS.

Impact on future development

The government’s ambition to build 1.5 million homes could become more challenging under stricter drainage requirements and mandatory SuDS. The report recognises this tension but argues that regional planning bodies will ensure economic growth and water security work hand in hand.