Ofwat slaps UK water firms with fines over historic sewage spills

Thames Water, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water were all the subjects of Ofwat's ire on Tuesday as the water regulator looks to clean up the industry amid historic sewage spills.

The trio will face a total of £168.0m in fines as it launches its largest-ever proposal into water company performance as public outrage grows over the environmental and financial performance of many of the industry's biggest names, with many Britons complaining that money from their bills is not being sufficiently invested in upgrades.

Earlier in the year, environmental campaigns called for a ban on executive bonuses if any evidence of environmental damage could be found.

Sewage spills into England's rivers and seas more than doubled in 2023, with Ofwat finding that all three companies had fallen short of making adequate investments in upgrading and maintaining their networks.

Ofwat 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."

Ofwat proposed fines of £104.0m for Thames Water, £47.0m for Yorkshire Water and £17.0m for Northumbrian Water, and it will also continue to investigate a further eight water and wastewater companies in England and Wales for similar issues, with updates expected in the coming year.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com