South West Water fined £7.8m for pollution offences
Water company fined for illegal sewage discharges and pollution incidents across Cornwall and Devon.
Quick Look
South West Water has been fined nearly £8m for 18 pollution-related offences following an Environment Agency investigation into incidents between 2015 and 2021 across Cornwall and Devon.
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Why It Matters
Environment Agency investigation into incidents between 2015 and 2021 in Cornwall and Devon.
A water company has been fined almost £8m for a series of pollution-related offences over six years.
South West Water previously entered guilty pleas at Plymouth Magistrates' Court after an investigation by the Environment Agency into incidents between 2015 and 2021 in Bodmin, Harlyn, Playing Place, and Polperro in Cornwall, and Plymouth in Devon.
Of the 18 charges, 17 were for illegal discharge activities including sewage discharges and one is for failing to take reasonable remedial measures following a failure at a sewage pumping station. The firm was fined £7,867,733.
The water company said in a statement after sentencing: "We apologise for what happened in the past."
It said the case related to "historic matters between 2015 and 2021" and the majority of spills involved "the use of overflows in storm conditions".
"We're investing £760m to tackle storm overflows and have reduced spills by 17% in the last year alone, with spill duration down by 25%," the company said.
It added "significant improvements" had been made at the sites where pollution occurred.
"We remain focused on the future as we deliver record levels of investment to achieve cleaner rivers and seas across the South West by 2040, a decade ahead of national targets," it said.
Open Questions
- Will further sites face investigation?
- How will the £760m investment be allocated locally?
