South West Water under the spotlight- as boss called before MPs

The boss of South West Water has appeared before MP to answer questions on environmental performance - including sewage spills, a day after 32 alerts across Devon and with 36 in force across Cornwall.

Susan Davy was asked about last year's South Devon cryptosporidium outbreak which left 17,000 properties needing to boil their tap water temporarily. The water firm has since paid out more than £1 million in compensationfor "reputational damage" to the tourist sector. The water firm is also facing a first-of-its-kind community legal action in Exmouth over the impact of pollution on the tourist industry and local life.

Ms Davy told the committee she didn't know how the firm uses non-disclosure agreements to settle customer complaints and would have to check.

The now CEO, who joined in 2007 and worked her way up, was also asked why she did not give any media interviews during or after the cryptosporidium outbreak in South Devon in May last year.

Commenting on Davy’s remarks about last May’s cryptosporidium outbreak, Liberal Democrat MP for South Devon Caroline Voaden said: “Susan Davy's comments about the cryptosporidium outbreak in Brixham and those who became ill were galling.

“I’ve repeatedly called on South West Water to carry out random testing in the water supply in Brixham and Kingswear since this crisis. Susan Davy's response to the committee this morning was disappointing and shows that South West Water still do not understand the gravity of what happened and what needs to be done now.

“Susan Davy's warm words about customer satisfaction will ring hollow for my constituents. Whether it’s forcing disgruntled customers to sign NDAs or overseeing double the number of pollution incidents as the second-worst-performing company, South West Water is heading to the bottom in every department, and it is bill payers who are paying the price.”

Leigh Day partner Oliver Holland, which is behind the East Devon-based legal claim, said: “Our clients have told us that they expect Ms Davy to give a comprehensive explanation for the calamitous impact of sewage on their lives and livelihood. Nevertheless, they are convinced that they have tried and failed to hold South West Water to account by other means and legal action is the solution for the situation they face.”

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee says the session, which will also see bosses from Yorkshire Water, United Utilities and Severn Trent appear, is an 'opportunity for MPs to quiz the companies on their individual financial performance, environmental performance, service delivery and consumer satisfaction'.

It adds: "MPs are likely to ask the water bosses about major recent concerns including incidents of outbreaks of contamination, such as the cryptosporidium outbreak in Devon last year, and continuing high levels of raw sewage being discharged into rivers and lakes, such as have occurred at Lake Windermere, the River Wharfe, and the River Trent."

Chair of the EFRA Committee, Alistair Carmichael MP, said: “The water industry has attracted investment from financial institutions looking for low risk and high reward returns, without sufficiently prioritising the delivery of services to the public.

“There is huge public concern about the performance of water companies, which has only been made worse by high profile incidents such as water outages, sewage pollution and outbreaks of contamination in domestic water supplies.

“Our inquiry is investigating the deep-rooted problems underlying the industry, and we are now calling in major water companies to scrutinise their individual performance and hold them accountable for their provision of water services to the public.”

What has the Government been doing?

The Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 has just received Royal Assent, boosting the force of regulators to tackle pollution. Changes will mean tougher penalties for any water bosses who break the law, powers to ban bonuses for polluters and automatic fines for water companies.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed said: “We promised to put water companies under tough special measures to clean up our waterways. Today, the Government has delivered on that promise as we continue to deliver on our Plan for Change.

“Polluting water bosses will no longer be paid undeserved bonuses. And if they break the law over water pollution, they could end up in the dock and face prison time.

“This is just the beginning. The Independent Water Commission will report back later this year to shape new laws that will transform our water system so we can clean up our rivers, lakes, and seas for good.”

The Act introduces bold new measures to clean up the industry, including:

• Enhanced enforcement powers: The Environment Agency will have increased ability to bring criminal charges against water bosses who break the law, who could face tougher penalties such as imprisonment of executives when companies fail to cooperate or obstruct investigations. The cost recovery powers of regulators will be expanded to ensure that water companies bear the cost of enforcement action taken in response to their failings.

• Ban on bonuses: Ofwat will have the power to set rules prohibiting the payment of executive bonuses if companies fail to meet high standards in protecting the environment, their consumers, and financial resilience.

• Automatic penalties: Automatic penalties will be introduced for a range of offences, allowing regulators to issue penalties more quickly without redirecting resources to lengthy investigations.

• Independent monitoring: Every emergency sewage outlet will be monitored, with data independently scrutinised and made publicly available within an hour of sewage spills occurring. This will ensure transparency and direct further investment to improving sewage infrastructure.

• Pollution Incident Reduction Plans (PIRPs): Water companies in England will be required to publish annual Pollution Incident Reduction Plans and report regularly on their progress, enabling the public and regulators to hold companies accountable for reducing pollution incidents.

There's more about today's meeting here

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