Following investigations by OFWAT, Thames Water has acquired two penalties totalling £122.7m, in impact “the biggest wonderful ever handed to a water firm in historical past”, based on Surroundings Secretary Steve Reed.
Introduced on 28 Might, the fines – issued over environmental breaches involving sewage spills – had been welcomed by Mark Lloyd, Chief Govt of The Rivers Belief as “a welcome signal that the regulators are lastly displaying their enamel in tackling poor efficiency within the water business”.
Described by OFWAT as “its greatest and most advanced investigation”, the regulator stated it had been trying into all wastewater corporations’ operations linked with sewage remedy works and sewerage networks. One component of that was an August 2024 session on a proposal to impose a £104.5m penalty on Thames Water, alongside an enforcement order which might require the corporate to take steps to make sure its compliance. At this time’s announcement marks the finalisation of each the penalty and enforcement order.
The regulator stated its investigation into how the corporate was managing its remedy works and wider wastewater community uncovered failings which have amounted to a big breach of the corporate’s authorized obligations, which has brought about an unacceptable influence on the surroundings and clients.
David Black, Chief Govt at Ofwat, stated it was “a clear-cut case the place Thames Water has let down its clients and failed to guard the surroundings.”
“Our investigation has uncovered a collection of failures by the corporate to construct, preserve and function ample infrastructure to fulfill its obligations. The corporate additionally didn’t give you an appropriate redress package deal that will have benefited the surroundings, so now we have imposed a big monetary penalty.”
OFWAT has additionally confirmed that it’ll mpose a £18.2m penalty on Thames Water on account of a separate investigation which discovered that the corporate had damaged the foundations referring to the fee of dividends – the primary time such a penalty has been issued to a water firm.
The announcement comes amidst what the Surroundings Secretary stated was a file 81 investigations into water corporations that had been launched final week, and what he described as “the hardest crackdown on water corporations in historical past”.
Account protecting
Trevor Francis, Regulatory Investigations Associate, at regulation agency Blackfords LLP, stated the file wonderful “displays a broader development of stricter enforcement and diminishing tolerance for systemic environmental mismanagement.”
“This isn’t an remoted incident; fairly, it alerts a regulatory surroundings more and more targeted on holding corporations accountable for each operational and environmental failings.”
The River Belief’s Mark Lloyd wished to see the cash spent on rescuing rivers. “It’s crucial that these fines are used to rectify the environmental hurt our rivers have been affected by on account of their actions, to uphold the precept of polluter pays, and to make sure that they don’t seem to be misplaced to the black gap of Treasury.”
An unbiased overview of the water system in England and Wales – the Cunliffe overview – was launched in October 2024 by the UK and Welsh governments. The ultimate suggestions are anticipated to be printed in June.
Mark Lloyd stated he hoped the overview will make attainable “a future the place water corporations usually are not lurching from wonderful to wonderful and monetary disaster, the place our rivers are wholesome, well-functioning methods that may deal with the rising incidence of flood and drought, making house for water and nature.”
