South West water companies announce huge investment to reduce storm overflows
The Pennon Group says its shareholders are committed to improving the environment
Last updated 8th Jun 2023
A firm that owns two water companies in our region says it's going to invest £750 million in the South West over the next two years.
The Pennon Group owns Bristol Water and South West Water, which covers Devon, Cornwall and parts of Somerset.
We're told £100 million of the money will be used to reduce releases from storm overflows to an average of 20 a year by 2025.
That's when sewage is released into our waterways during extreme weather, to prevent blockages.
It is an issue that has been increasingly controversial in recent years, with campaign groups such as Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) highlighting how often they take place.
SAS say in 2021 sewage was discharged into rivers and seas around the UK 370,000 times and they demand a total end to the practice by 2030.
The Pennon Group says it will prioritise investment to prevent this at 49 designated swimming sites.
The rest of the money will be used as follows:
- £125m to new water resources and two desalination plants in Cornwall to secure the long-term water security of the region
- £160m to accelerate Net Zero 2030 commitments, including a c.£35m investment in a renewable energy generation site in Dunfermline, and c.£25m in increasing battery storage capacity
- Doubling Pennon’s apprenticeship and graduate schemes to 1,000 by 2030, along with offering 5,000 work placement opportunities over the same period
- Employing 200 new staff members
Susan Davy, Chief Executive of Pennon Group, said: “Today, we are committing to going further and faster in the investments we are making across the South West over the next two years.
“We had already planned to increase spending to £400 million over the period.
"Now, having listened to our customers, many of whom are shareholders, we are going much bigger."
The Pennon Group says it has two "key objectives" which are creating more water resources "at a time of increasing population and lower rainfall and reducing storm overflows.
"That’s why we are announcing our plans today to invest over £750m across the region over the next two years in these vital areas," Ms Davy said.
“We know there is much more to be done.
"Our shareholders have fully endorsed our commitment to invest record amounts to improve our environment.”