South West Water fined £7.8m for reckless sewage pollution

Summarised from 3 outlets · 4 reports · Updated 2 Oct, 13:26 · Archive

South West Water has been fined £7.8 million for reckless failures that led to hundreds of illegal sewage spills.

South West Water has been fined £7.8 million after pleading guilty to a catalogue of pollution-related charges. A judge found the company responsible for reckless failures which contributed to hundreds of illegal sewage spills across Devon and Cornwall.

The company is now committed to reducing future spills through significant investment. South West Water plans to invest £760 million over the next four years to address the issue regionally. As part of this programme, the firm will build a new pumping station and storage tanks, with these improvements expected to be completed by summer 2027.

How it is being reported

• South West Water to build new pumping station and storage tanks to cut storm overflow spills in estuaryNorth Devon Gazette · 30 Sept, 14:00
• South West Water fined £7.8m as judge condemns ‘reckless’ sewage failuresExmouth Journal · 29 Sept, 15:56
• South West Water hit with record multi-million fine for pollution offencesNorth Devon Gazette · 29 Sept, 15:49
• South West Water sentenced today over mass sewage pollution - updatesPlymouthLive · 29 Sept, 09:49

In this story: South West Water · Devon · Cornwall

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