To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his most recent estimate is of the cost to the water industry of meeting the water quality targets contained in the EU Water Framework Directive. (303423)

The most recent estimate of cost to the water industry across England and Wales of achieving water quality targets determined under the first planning round of the Water Framework Directive is £174,000,000. This includes £117,000,000 in one-off costs and £57,000,000 average annual costs over the six years of the first River Basin Management Plans from 2009-2015. These figures include the costs of investigations which are essential to progressing work within the future planning rounds of the Directive.