Anglian Water has been ordered to pay £62.8 million for failing to adequately tackle sewage pollution at its wastewater treatment works.
A years-long investigation by the water regulator, Ofwat, found the company had failed to properly operate and upgrade its sewage works and that the firm’s leadership did not have sufficient oversight in place.
The company has been issued with an “enforcement package”, to be paid by shareholders rather than customers, to clean up the environment. Among the measures is a £57 million scheme to remove and reduce water pollution in eight catchments in the company’s region, which spans East Anglia and neighbouring counties.
“Our investigation has found failures in how Anglian Water has operated and maintained its sewage works and networks, which has resulted in excessive spills from storm overflows. This is a serious breach and is unacceptable,” said Lynn Parker, senior director for enforcement at Ofwat.
The payout is the latest stemming from a major investigation launched in 2021 by Ofwat and the Environment Agency (EA) into whether firms were routinely failing to meet permits for handling sewage. Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water have agreed to pay £40 million and £15.7 million respectively, while South West Water was told to pay £24 million. Thames Water, Britain’s biggest water company, was given a penalty of £104 million.
