Looking to the regulators is one thing; another is the performance of the Water Companies. Without wanting to re-run the offshoring etc debate, it is relevant that Privatisation of water in 1989 has led to huge profits for foreign investors and a precious resource offshored through elaborate tax-avoiding structures, with massive dividends and little corporation tax. There is no real market here; you can't go elsewhere if you don’t like what your local water company does or offers. Bills for ordinary households have risen dramatically, supposedly for investment, but the infrastructure remains leaky and wasteful. Public ownership of water could hardly do worse.