Wessex Water looks set to be ordered to pay £11million over wastewater failures and told to spend it on improvements to cut sewage spills and other measures.
Regulator Ofwat found that Wessex Water failed to maintain, operate and upgrade its wastewater network sufficiently to ensure it could handle sewage and wastewater adequately.
Ofwat, which is the industry regulator across England and Wales, announced on Tuesday that Wessex Water and its investors should brace themselves to fund a total enforcement package of £11million.
None of the enforcement package would be paid for by customers via bills, the regulator said.
A consultation will now be open to the public and key stakeholders to offer any final comments before Ofwat’s final decision is made on the matter.
Interested parties can comment on Ofwat’s proposed decision by 5pm on 2 December.
Failures: Wessex Water looks set to be ordered to pay £11m over wastewater failures
Wessex Water, which in 2025 upped its bills by an average of 20 per cent, or £113, has customers across Bristol, Dorset and Somerset, and covers most of Wiltshire and parts of Gloucestershire and Hampshire.
The measures Wessex Water has been ordered to take include helping private landowners to seal their sewer pipes, cutting spills at specific storm overflows by bringing forward investment, installing more monitoring equipment and helping customers to sustainably manage rainwater at their homes.
In June, the Government banned bonuses for water firms which failed to protect the environment from the worst pollution incidents.
The chief executive of Wessex Water, Ruth Jefferson, was among water company bosses who were banned from receiving £4million in total bonuses for the last financial year.
Ofwat’s announcement on Tuesday followed similar investigations and payouts from water firms earlier this year including Yorkshire Water, Thames Water, Northumbrian Water, Anglian Water and South West Water.
These resulted in enforcement actions worth around £240million, Ofwat said.
Lynn Parker, senior director for enforcement at Ofwat, said: ‘Our investigation has found that Wessex Water failed to effectively operate, maintain and upgrade its wastewater assets, which meant there were spills from storm overflows when there shouldn’t have been.
‘To their credit, the company has been one of the more proactive in investigating and rectifying the problems identified.
‘However, there remain breaches which must be accounted for and corrected.’
A Wessex Water spokesperson said: ‘We regret the impact our wastewater performance has had on customers and the environment.
‘When the issues at our treatment sites were identified we were quick to fix them, but we do agree that there is much more to do – particularly in areas where groundwater enters the sewerage network and can result in overflows operating long after rainfall events.
‘The proposals in this package will tackle the problem directly, sealing pipes on private land that we would not normally have powers over, as well as additional monitoring and initiatives like water butts and rain gardens to help customers treat rainwater as a valuable resource. This not only prevents pollution but also reduces the risk of sewer flooding for communities.’
The water company, which is owned by Malaysian firm YTL, is required to help local landowners seal sewer pipes to prevent unnecessary groundwater reaching Wessex Water’s network as part of the enforcement plans.
In the future, water businesses in England could face automatic and higher fines for sewage dumping under new Environment Agency powers.
In May, Ofwat fined Thames Water £122.7million for breaching rules over sewage spills and shareholder payouts.
The penalty was the biggest ever issued by Ofwat, which said the company had ‘let down its customers and failed to protect the environment’.
The watchdog confirmed the fines would be paid by Thames Water and its investors, and not by customers who were hit with water bill increases earlier this year.
Water firms have faced public outrage over the extent of pollution – and at a lack of investment in water infrastructure, rising bills, high dividends and executive pay and bonuses at privatised water companies.
DIY INVESTING PLATFORMS
AJ Bell
AJ Bell
Easy investing and ready-made portfolios
Hargreaves Lansdown
Hargreaves Lansdown
Free fund dealing and investment ideas
interactive investor
interactive investor
Flat-fee investing from £4.99 per month
Freetrade
Freetrade
Investing Isa now free on basic plan
Trading 212
Trading 212
Free share dealing and no account fee
Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.
Compare the best investing account for you
#Wessex #Water #faces #11m #levy #sewage #wastewater #failures
