'Serious and unacceptable' breaches found at Severn Trent Water
Ofwat says it's found serious breaches at Severn Trent Water.
Last updated 10 hours ago
Water regulator Ofwat has said it found “serious and unacceptable” breaches by Severn Trent Water by failing to deal effectively with wastewater and sewage.
But the watchdog said it did not need to fine the utility because it had started proactively dealing with its own network problems before Ofwat opened a case.
Severn Trent, which supplies more than eight million households in England and Wales, has invested £98 million of shareholder funds into improving its infrastructure.
Lynn Parker, Ofwat’s senior director for enforcement, said: “Our investigation found serious and unacceptable breaches by Severn Trent Water – that is not in question and the company accepts it.
“But their response to those failures sets a standard we expect from all companies: identifying the problem, proactively investing to fix it and co-operating openly with the regulator.”
James Jesic, chief executive at Severn Trent Plc, said: “We’re delivering a significant storm overflow spills reduction programme and Ofwat has recognised this in today’s decision.
“We accept Ofwat's findings relating to issues that we proactively identified and began addressing these before the enforcement case was opened. By monitoring and investing early to put things right, we are now seeing the benefits, including reducing average storm overflow spills by 41% in 2025.
“Our investment programme in spills reduction continues across our region at pace with the strength of our whole organisation and supply chain behind it. We still have work to do and remain absolutely focused on delivering further improvements for our customers and the environment.”