Letter : Water investment

Sir: Your quip about "the disastrous performance" of some of the privatised water companies (leading article, 26 April) simply cannot be allowed to pass.

These companies have invested more than pounds 15bn in the drinking water and sewerage systems since privatisation, to time and to budget. This investment has produced substantial improvements in the quality of drinking water, of rivers and coastal waters, as the independent regulators testify. The greater efficiencies the companies have squeezed out of their operations mean real price increases in future will be half what they were before privatisation, despite continued massive investment.

Janet Langdon

Director

Water Services Association

London SW1