Bath’s Wessex Water agrees to £11m penalty over sewage failures

Ofwat has proposed an £11 million enforcement package after Wessex Water failed to operate, maintain and upgrade its wastewater network adequately.

Photo © Wessex Water

The utility company and its shareholders will fund the enforcement package, rather than adding it to customers’ bills.

The package includes:

• Helping private landowners to seal their sewer pipes to prevent unnecessary groundwater reaching Wessex Water’s network.
• Reducing spills at specific storm overflows through investment which would have otherwise occurred beyond 2030.
• Installing additional monitoring equipment to better enable management of flows at treatment works and storm overflows.
• Helping customers to sustainably manage rainwater.

The announcement marks the sixth case in Ofwat’s largest and most complex set of investigations into all companies and their management of their wastewater treatment works and networks.

It follows the conclusion of cases against Yorkshire Water, Thames Water, Northumbrian Water, Anglian Water and South West Water earlier this year, which have resulted in enforcement action totalling more than £240 million.

Lynn Parker, senior director for enforcement at Ofwat, said: “Our investigation has found that Wessex Water failed to effectively operate, maintain and upgrade its wastewater assets, which meant there were spills from storm overflows when there shouldn’t have been.

“To their credit, the company has been one of the more proactive in investigating and rectifying the problems identified. However, there remain breaches which must be accounted for and corrected.

“We understand that the public wants to see transformative change. That is why we are prioritising this sector-wide investigation which has so far held five wastewater companies to account to the tune of £240 million in enforcement redress, benefitting the local environment and the customers those companies serve.”

Wessex Water has invested more than £150 million since 2020 on upgrading storm overflows in its region.

It already has plans in place for 2025-30 to address many of the compliance issues identified at its wastewater treatment works and network.

However, there remain further measures that the company needs to take to ensure that it is fully compliant and which Ofwat will continue to closely monitor.

A consultation will now be open to the public and key stakeholders to offer any final comments before Ofwat’s final decision is made.

The consultation can be found at https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/consultations/.

A Wessex Water spokesperson told the Echo: “We regret the impact our wastewater performance has had on customers and the environment.

“When the issues at our treatment sites were identified we were quick to fix them, but we do agree that there is much more to do – particularly in areas where groundwater enters the sewerage network and can result in overflows operating long after rainfall events.

“The proposals in this package will tackle the problem directly, sealing pipes on private land that we would not normally have powers over, as well as additional monitoring and initiatives like water butts and rain gardens to help customers treat rainwater as a valuable resource.

“This not only prevents pollution but also reduces the risk of sewer flooding for communities.

“Looking ahead, we are planning a step change in the maintenance of our sewerage infrastructure with investment of £300 million in this area by 2030, with expansions to some of our key waste treatment sites either already underway or completed.

“We also continue to encourage sustainable rainwater management, ensuring rain is returned to the environment near where it falls, rather than entering the sewer system.”