Why aren't water firms being forced to cut leaks?

Tim Ireland/PA Wire/Press Association Images

As the wettest drought in living memory continues, there's shocking news from Ofwat. It told The Guardian that more than half of all water companies will not have to cut leaks at all in the next three years, and the water industry as a whole will only have to reduce them by a paltry 1.5%. The 3.4 billion litres of water leaking from the system is apparently just hunky dory.

So why are the rules so lenient during the worst drought for 25 years?