Three of the UK’s water companies are facing fines totalling £168m for failing to manage their wastewater treatment works and networks.

Water regulator Ofwat has imposed penalties on Thames Water for £104m, Yorkshire Water for £47m and Northumbrian Water for £17m, as part of the first batch of outcomes from its biggest ever investigation.

Ofwat last month confirmed it had extended its investigation into wastewater treatment meaning that all 11 water and wastewater companies in England and Wales are under scrutiny over sewage spills.

The penalties announced today relate to these three firms’ management of wastewater treatment works and wider sewer networks, including their operation of storm overflows.

Ofwat chief executive, David Black, said the regulator had uncovered a “catalogue of failure” by Thames Water, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water in how they ran their sewage works.

“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,” Black said.

“The level of penalties we intend to impose signals both the severity of the failings and our determination to take action to ensure water companies do more to deliver cleaner rivers and seas.”

Ofwat found that all three companies have failed to ensure that discharges of untreated wastewater from storm overflows occur only in exceptional circumstances, which has resulted in harm to the environment and customers.

The companies have also failed to upgrade assets to ensure they meet the changing needs of the local area they serve and been slow to understand the scope of their obligations relating to limiting pollution from storm overflows.

Black added: “These companies need to move at pace to put things right and meet their obligations to protect customers and the environment. They also need to transform how they look after the environment and to focus on doing better in the future.”

Ofwat can impose a financial penalty on companies valuing up to 10% of their relevant turnover. For the three companies fined today, the value equates to 9% of Thames Water’s turnover, 7% of Yorkshire Water’s turnover, and 5% of Northumbrian Water’s turnover.

These are the first three cases that Ofwat has open in its wider investigation. The regulator has described the investigation as a “priority” and said it would continue to work as quickly as possible on the eight other cases.

---