The water industry is in crisis. Can it be fixed?

Independent commission will report back with recommendations next June .

Some parts of the UK could face a drinking water shortage by 2030s , says Steve Reed .

Margaret Thatcher wrote that "the rain may come from the Almighty but he did not send the pipes, plumbing and engineering to go with it" Margaret Thatcher's government privatised the water companies in the 1980s .

Ofwat has been accused of getting its priorities wrong by putting too much emphasis on keeping bills low and not enough on encouraging investment.

Regulator Ofwat allowed this increase in debt to happen as for many years it did not consider that it had the requisite powers to dictate how companies chose to structure their finances.

Ofwat announced fines of Â168 m for three water firms over a âcatalogue of failuresâ in how they ran their sewage works.

All options are on the table, including abolition of Ofwat and replacement with a new regulator.

Water UK welcomed the commission, saying the current system is not working and needs major reform.

But the environment secretary is adamant renationalisation is not the solution.

The failure of the past will mean significantly higher bills in the future, he says.