South West Water Fined Nearly £8 Million for Decades of Sewage Spills
The company pleaded guilty to 18 charges, including illegal water discharge activities, for pollution incidents spanning six years.
South West Water has been ordered to pay nearly £8 million in fines following a series of "horrendous" sewage spills into popular bathing spots across Devon and Cornwall between 2015 and 2021. A judge described the water firm as "reckless" for the illegal discharges.
The company pleaded guilty to 18 charges at Plymouth Magistrates' Court, 17 of which related to illegal water discharge activities. The total fine amounts to £7,867,733. A significant portion of this, £1.1 million, was for a single incident in August 2019 when untreated sewage flowed into Polperro Harbour in Cornwall on a bank holiday weekend. The company took ten hours to respond to this incident despite alarms sounding.
An investigation by the Environment Agency revealed that untreated sewage was discharged onto Harlyn beach 231 times between January 2016 and July 2021. Additionally, near Bodmin, the firm recorded 336 illegal spills at its sewage works over seven years, concluding in March 2020.
Judge Jo Matson characterized the pollution as "horrendous" and emphasized the need for the firm to ensure such significant incidents do not recur. The water company was also ordered to pay £329,993 in costs and a £120 victim surcharge. This seven-figure fine represents the largest South West Water has received to date.
This penalty follows previous sanctions, including an £1.8 million payment ordered months prior for a parasite outbreak that sickened hundreds in Devon. In 2023, the company was fined over £2.1 million for causing pollution in Devon and Cornwall, with one spill resulting in the deaths of thousands of fish, including protected species.
Clarissa Newell, Area Environment Manager at the Environment Agency, stated that "hundreds of pollution incidents occurred at some of the most scenic locations in Cornwall and Devon." She added that the agency is "holding them to account" daily. Environment Secretary Angela Eagle remarked that the sentence sends a "clear message" to water companies about the consequences of ignoring their obligations.
In response, South West Water issued an apology for past actions. A spokesperson noted that the legal proceedings concerned historic matters from 2015 to 2021 and that most charges related to the use of overflows during storm conditions. The company stated it is investing £760 million to address storm overflows, reporting a 17% reduction in spills and a 25% decrease in spill duration in the last year. Improvements have been made at specific sites, including upgraded treatment processes and replaced pumps. The company aims for cleaner rivers and seas across the South West by 2040.
The sentencing comes as Andy Burnham, speaking at the Labour Party Conference, described the water industry as a "symbol of what has gone wrong with Britain," and proposed repealing former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's ban on the public ownership of water companies.
