To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of miles of English water pipes which need replacing; and how many miles of pipes will be replaced in 2007-08. (146295)

Ofwat, as the economic regulator of the water and sewerage industry in England and Wales, sets price limits every five years. Ofwat’s final determination in December 2004 set out the price limits and outputs for each company for the years 2005-06 to 2009-10.

Following the last price review in 2004, each company produced a monitoring plan covering the period up until 2010, containing estimates of the activity levels needed to achieve their outputs. The plans include the estimated length of mains renewal and relining that will be needed. The following table shows the monitoring plan estimates for companies in England for 2007-08 and overall for 2005-10.