Ofwat extends sewage dumping inquiry to include South West Water
The regulator Ofwat has expanded its investigation into the dumping of raw sewage to include South West Water after finding “shocking” failures in the way the majority of water companies run their waste treatment works.
Ofwat said on Tuesday it had extended its inquiry after heightened concerns about South West Water’s environmental performance and suggestions it was not complying with its legal obligations.
The enforcement action being taken by the regulator is part of a large inquiry into potentially illegal dumping of raw sewage by privatised water companies. Six out of nine companies – Anglian Water, Northumbrian Water, Thames Water, Wessex Water, Yorkshire Water and now South West Water – have been served formal notices to gather further information for enforcement purposes, the regulator said.
In 2020 the Guardian revealed that water firms had discharged raw sewage into England’s rivers 200,000 times the previous year. And in 2021 Ofwat and the Environment Agency announced an investigation into potentially illegal dumping of raw sewage into rivers and coastal waters by water companies.
The inquiry began after water companies admitted they may have illegally released untreated human effluent into rivers and waterways.
Water companies are allowed to self-report breaches of permits that allow them to release raw sewage in exceptional circumstances via storm overflows.
The six companies are being investigated because of concerns they have a significant number of wastewater treatment works that may not be compliant with the permits – and are therefore dumping sewage potentially illegally – as well as concerns about how each company manages its compliance with its environmental obligations and whether it has provided the
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