Welsh Water to pay £45m after 'unacceptable' sewage failures

Welsh Water is set to pay a proposed £44.7m after the industry regulator found "serious and unacceptable" breaches in the supplier's sewage and network services.

Ofwat said the supplier failed to properly operate, maintain and upgrade its wastewater network to ensure it could cope with levels of sewage and wastewater, and did not have adequate processes in place or oversight by senior bosses.

The planned enforcement package will include £40.6m to reduce spills and reduce the environmental damage caused, and an extra £4.1m to improve river quality.

Ofwat stressed the payment amounted to more than a fine, which would have been £40m, and Welsh Water has accepted the findings and apologised.

The case is the seventh in a series of Ofwat investigations into all water and wastewater companies in England and Wales.

Thames Water was fined nearly £123m following two investigations into the company, while other water firms will pay enforcement packages of between £11m and nearly £63m.

"Our investigation has found serious and unacceptable breaches in how Dwr Cymru Welsh Water has operated and maintained its sewage works and networks, which has resulted in excessive spills from storm overflows to the environment," said Lynn Parker from Ofwat.

"We now expect them to focus on putting things right so that customers can regain trust in their water company and the critical service they provide.

The enforcement package will also tackle groundwater entering the sewer network - a major cause of frequent spills - and the money towards improving river quality will be spent in "extremely sensitive catchments".

Ofwat said the improvements would need to be delivered by 2030 and added that the costs would be absorbed by the company, and not through higher customer bills.

A Welsh Water spokesperson said: "We accept the findings of Ofwat's investigation and apologise for where we have fallen short of the standards that our customers and regulators rightly expect from us.

"We have started a major transformation programme across the company, including within our wastewater services, focused on improving performance, strengthening operational oversight and accelerating investment to deliver better outcomes for rivers and coastal waters.

"The investigation has considered both historic and more recent compliance, and we accept that improvements are needed."

A consultation on the package is now open to the public and key stakeholders until 2 April to offer any comments and responses before Ofwat announces its final decision.