Three UK water companies face £168m fines for sewage spills

Thames Water, Yorkshire Water, and Northumbrian Water face hefty fines after a “catalogue of failure” was uncovered in Ofwat’s biggest-ever investigation.

The regulator has been looking into the management of wastewater treatment works since 2021 and has since launched enforcement cases on all 11 water and wastewater companies in England and Wales.

In its first round of investigation outcomes, Ofwat has proposed fines of £104m (US$132m) on Thames Water, £47m on Yorkshire Water, and £17m on Northumbrian Water.

It also plans to propose enforcement orders that will require companies to clean up the issues identified by the regulator, which includes reviewing compliance concerns and collecting data on treatment works that may not be operating as intended.

David Black, chief executive of Ofwat, said: “Ofwat has uncovered a catalogue of failure by Thames Water, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water in how they ran their sewage works and this resulted in excessive spills from storm overflows.”

He added: “These companies need to move at pace to put things right and meet their obligations to protect customers and the environment.”

Spills only in exceptional circumstances

Ofwat’s investigation began after water companies admitted that they may be releasing unpermitted sewage discharges into water sources, something that should only occur in exceptional circumstances.

Other compliance issues included a failure to upgrade treatment equipment and a lack of internal information and guidance on obligations of limiting pollution from storm overflows.

Thames Water bears the brunt

Thames Water, which Ofwat has been investigating since 2022, stands to suffer the largest fine for its sewage spill breaches.

The water company operates 354 water and wastewater treatment works, of which 197 have environmental permits that have specific flow to full treatment (FFT) requirements. FFT refers to the measure of how much wastewater a treatment works can process at a given time.

Ofwat’s investigation found that 157 treatment works were potentially non-compliant with FFT or other environmental permit conditions.

In its enforcement order, Thames Water will be required to demonstrate that it has reviewed the requirements of all its environmental permits and develop a plan on how it will take remedial action to reduce sewage spillages, with Ofwat approval.

Thames Water said in a statement: “We take this matter very seriously and have cooperated at every stage of Ofwat’s investigation. We regard all untreated discharges as unacceptable, even when they are permitted, and are taking action to improve the health of our rivers as a key area of focus and investment.”

All enforcement orders are subject to public consultation, with interested parties invited to comment by 10 September.