South West Water fined a record £1.8m after incident that left hundreds ill | UK News

South West Water (SWW) has been handed a record £1.8m fine following a cryptosporidium outbreak which left hundreds ill in Brixham, Devon.

The incident, which affected up to 16,000 homes and businesses, led to boil water notices being put in place for up to two months from May 2024.

The water company was fined at Exeter Magistrates’ Court following a prosecution by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI), the water safety regulator. Speaking after the case, the DWI said the fine was a record for a drinking water offence.

The company pleaded guilty to an offence under section 70(1) of the Water Industry Act 1991, which requires water companies to supply water that is wholesome and fit for human consumption.

District Judge Stuart Smith fined SWW £1,853,000, with a surcharge of £2,000 and costs of £75,000 – totalling £1,930,000.

However, Caroline Voaden, MP for South Devon, whose constituency includes Brixham, said many “will feel the punishment dished out to SWW does not reflect the seriousness of the contamination”.

Up to 39,000 consumers affected

Between 15 May and 8 July 2024, up to 39,000 consumers were subject to a boil water notice following the detection of Cryptosporidium in the drinking water supply.

Over 390 customer contacts reporting illness were received by SWW during the incident, which it flagged to the water regulator.

The regulator’s investigation found that cryptosporidium from animal faeces entered the drinking water supply network on agricultural land, likely via an exposed and faulty air valve covered in mud.

Soil samples taken in the vicinity of the air valve contained cryptosporidium oocysts whose DNA matched the Brixham strain of the illness.

SWW technicians found that the concrete chamber surrounding the valve had been removed, the metal lid was missing and the chamber had filled with soil, silt and water.

“The primary purpose of a water company is to supply clean, drinkable water to its customers. On that count, SWW clearly failed,” Ms Voaden said.

The Liberal Democrat MP added “we will never see the scale of reform needed to turn the industry around” unless the government accepts that “nobody should be making a profit from water”.

New safeguards introduced

Following the incident, the water company carried out a specialist deep clean of the water mains and flushed the network.

SWW also installed permanent ultraviolet disinfection and fine filtration systems at the two service reservoirs supplying the Brixham area after the incident.

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The company was also handed a formal legal notice requiring them to improve their air valve risk management.

The incident was described as a “major event which had severe consequences for the local community and visitors to the area,” by Marcus Rink, chief inspector of the Drinking Water Inspectorate.

Despite this, he insisted that: “Such events are extremely rare, and the UK is one of the countries with the highest drinking water quality in the world.”

Dominic Kay KC, representing SWW, offered an “unreserved apology” on behalf of the company.

“The company, through its senior management, wishes to record publicly its genuine remorse for this incident,” he told the court.