Big fines for water firms as Ofwat imposed penalties of £168 million in relation to failure to manage waste water at three companies.
Ofwat has today (6 August 2024) proposed that three water companies will be fined a total of £168m for failing to manage their wastewater treatment works and networks, as part of the first batch of outcomes from its biggest ever investigation.
Water companies fined
The penalties proposed for consultation will see Thames Water fined £104m, Yorkshire Water fined £47m and Northumbrian Water fined £17m.
The penalties relate to their management of wastewater treatment works and wider sewer networks including their operation of storm overflows. These are designed to release water in exceptional circumstances, when the sewerage system is at risk of being overwhelmed, such as during unusually heavy downpours or snowfall, to prevent sewage flooding into people’s homes.
Big fines for water firms’ failures
Ofwat has found that all three firms have:
- Failed to ensure that discharges of untreated wastewater from storm overflows occur only in exceptional circumstances which has resulted in harm to the environment and their customers.
- Shown a strong correlation between high spill levels and operational issues at wastewater treatment sites which points to these companies not having properly operated and maintained their wastewater treatment works.
- Failed to upgrade assets, where necessary, to ensure they meet the changing needs of the local area they serve.
- Been slow to understand the scope of their obligations relating to limiting pollution from storm overflows and failed to ensure that they had in place the necessary information, processes and oversight to enable them to properly comply with those requirements.
However, the scale of the breaches Ofwat has found, differs between each of the wastewater companies. Investigations by the regulator found that:
- Thames Water had 67% of its wastewater treatment works with FFT permits found to have capacity and operational issues. 16% of its storm overflows associated with its wastewater treatment works were found to be in breach.
- Yorkshire Water had 16% of its wastewater treatment works with FFT permits found to have capacity or operational problems. 45% of its storm overflows associated with its wastewater treatment works were found to be in breach.
- Northumbrian Water had 3% of its wastewater treatment works with FFT permits found to have capacity or operational problems. 9% of its storm overflows associated with its wastewater treatment works were found to be in breach.
Therefore, in addition to the proposed big fines for water firms, Ofwat is also consulting on proposed enforcement orders which will require each company to rectify the problems Ofwat has identified to ensure they comply with their legal and regulatory obligations.
Companies will not be able to recover the money for any proposed penalties from customers and Ofwat will ensure that customers are not charged twice where additional maintenance is required.
Ofwat’s Chief Executive David Black 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. Our investigation has shown how they routinely released sewage into our rivers and seas, rather than ensuring that this only happens in exceptional circumstances as the law intends.
The level of penalties we intend to impose signals both the severity of the failings and our determination to take action to ensure water companies do more to deliver cleaner rivers and seas.
These companies need to move at pace to put things right and meet their obligations to protect customers and the environment. They also need to transform how they look after the environment and to focus on doing better in the future.
Looking to the future we want transform companies’ performance under our new price control that starts in April next year, so we reduce spills from sewage overflows by 44 per cent by 2030 compared to 2021 levels.
These proposed findings are the first three cases Ofwat has open in its wider investigation to reach this stage. This investigation is a priority for Ofwat, and it will continue to work as quickly as possible on the eight further cases.
Enforcement notices have been issued to the three water companies fined:
- Enforcement case in Thames Water’s management of its sewage treatment works and sewerage networks
- Enforcement case in Yorkshire Water’s management of its sewage treatment works and sewerage networks
- Enforcement case in Northumbrian Water’s management of its sewage treatment works and sewerage networks
Ofwat can impose big fines on water firms, the value of which can be up to 10% of relevant turnover. For each company, the fines applied in this investigation equates to (i) Thames Water – 9% of turnover, (ii) Yorkshire Water – 7% of turnover, and (iii) Northumbrian Water – 5% of turnover.
The big fines for water firms were issued under Section 22A Water Industry Act 1991 provides details of how financial penalties are calculated and imposed with accompanying guidance.
These penalties are separate to the commitments that have been set out as part of PR24 draft determinations for all wastewater companies which will see £9.5bn overall enhancement expenditure for storm overflow improvements to meet their new performance commitment targets.
Big fines for water firms are likely to continue when the sector is facing unprecedented challenges, with climate change, population growth, urbanisation, and emerging pollutants all putting pressure on the environment across England and Wales. To help address these challenges, a new Evidence and Performance team has been created within Ofwat to enhance Ofwat’s environmental assessment and monitoring capabilities.
If you require advice on environmental protection, please contact one of the Ashbrooke team.