Every week brings news of another drought order and complaints that water companies are profiteering while failing to tackle leaks.

Critics say utilities must stop paying chief executives exorbitant salaries. But compared to the bosses of other major companies, the pay of Thames Water's chief executive is moderate - 拢800,000 a year.

Claims that Thames Water should have started improvement works earlier do not take into account the time needed to launch such a large-scale project. The UK is experiencing a construction boom and the civil engineering sector is very tight.

Thames Water's critics should be backing its efforts to improve. Politicians should support the plan for a desalination plant at Becton and locals living near the site of a proposed reservoir in Marsham, Oxfordshire, should halt their protests, which have delayed planning approval. Both projects would go a long way to preventing future hosepipe bans.

Nicholas Newman, by email

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