Welsh Water to pay £44.7m over ‘serious and unacceptable’ sewage spills
Welsh Water faces a proposed £44.7 million payout after industry regulator Ofwat found “serious and unacceptable” breaches of its sewerage and network services.
Ofwat said the supplier did not adequately operate, maintain and upgrade its wastewater network to cope with sewage and effluent levels, and noted inadequate processes and high-level oversight.
The planned enforcement package includes £40.6 million to reduce leakage from certain floods, reduce damage to the environment and tackle groundwater entering the sewer network.
A further £4.1 million has been allocated to improve river quality in “highly vulnerable catchments”.
Lynn Parker, Ofwat’s senior director of enforcement, said: “Our investigation identified serious and unacceptable breaches in the way Dwr Cymru Welsh Water operated and maintained its sewer works and networks, resulting in excessive leakage into the environment from storm floods.
“We now expect them to focus on making things right so customers can regain confidence in their water companies and the critical service they provide.
“We understand that the public wants to see transformative change.
“That’s why we’re prioritizing this industry-wide investigation, which requires companies like Welsh Water to be held to account.”
Ofwat emphasized that the package was more than the amount that would be paid if Ofwat fined the company; this amount would be £40 million.
There will now be a consultation on the proposed package of applications, with a deadline of 2 April for responses.
Details of the planned action come as Welsh Water customers prepare to see their bills rise again next month, with the supplier announcing a total increase of 42% by 2029-30.
A Welsh Water spokesman said: “We accept the findings of Ofwat’s investigation and apologize where we fell short of the standards our customers and regulators rightly expect of us.
“We have embarked on a major transformation program across the company, including our wastewater services, focused on improving performance, strengthening operational oversight and accelerating investment to deliver better outcomes for rivers and coastal waters.
“The investigation assessed both historical and more recent compliance and we recognize that improvements are required.”
This marks the latest enforcement action by Ofwat, after it announced earlier this month that it planned to fine South East Water £22 million for water supply failures affecting more than 286,000 people between 2020 and 2023.
Ofwat said this was the seventh case in its sector-wide sewage investigation and the proposed enforcement action brings the total so far during the investigation to more than £300 million.
