South West Water fined £7.8m for pollution offences

Summarised from 4 outlets · Updated 29 Sept, 22:32 · Archive

South West Water has been fined £7.8m for hundreds of sewage spills across Devon and Cornwall between 2015 and 2021.

South West Water pleaded guilty to 24 environmental charges after the Environment Agency investigated pollution incidents across Devon and Cornwall between January 2015 and July 2021. A judge described the company as 'reckless', noting that on one occasion untreated sewage gushed through a harbour wall on a bank holiday weekend, with engineers taking 10 hours to attend.

How it is being reported

• South West Water fined £8m for hundreds of sewage spills in Cornwall and DevonDistrict judge orders record fine for region and says incidents of pollution cannot be tolerated A water company has been ordered to pay a record fine of almost £8m for hundreds of sewage spills at popular bathing spots and sensitive habitats in Cornwall and Devon. On one occasion, untreated sewage gushed through a harbour wall on a bank holiday weekend but South West Water (SWW) engineers took 10 hours to attend. Continue reading...Guardian Business · 29 Sept, 16:19
• Water firm fined almost £8m for sewage spillages at beauty spotsSouth West Water (SWW) has been fined almost £8m for hundreds of sewage spillages across Devon and Cornwall over a six-year period.Sky News · 29 Sept, 15:46
• South West Water is fined nearly £8million for 'horrendous' sewage spills over six yearsThe water firm was described by a judge as 'reckless' after raw sewage poured into popular bathing spots across Devon and Cornwall between 2015 and 2021.Daily Mail · 29 Sept, 15:31
• South West Water hit with £7.8m fine for ‘horrendous’ pollution offencesThe Environment Agency has fined South West Water £7.8m over a string of pollution-related offences across Devon and Cornwall. The water company pleaded guilty to 24 environmental charges after the Environment Agency investigated incidents that took place between January 2015 and July 2021 in Bodmin, Harlyn, Polperro, Plymouth, and Playing Place. Of the charges, 17 [...]City AM · 29 Sept, 15:09

In this story: South West Water · Environment Agency · Devon · Cornwall

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