Welsh Water has been ordered to pay £44.7m by Ofwat after an investigation by the water regulator found “serious and unacceptable breaches” in its wastewater network.

Ofwat said that Welsh Water had failed to “operate, maintain and upgrade its wastewater assets adequately” to ensure they could cope with the flows of sewage and wastewater coming to them.

The investigation also found that the company failed to have processes by its senior management in place, to ensure its assets were performing adequately and that it was meeting its expected legal requirements.

Welsh Water’s redress package includes £40.6m to address harm and reduce spills at specific overflows, with an additional £4.1m to be invested to improve river water quality in more sensitive catchments.

Senior director for enforcement at Ofwat, Lynn Parker, said: “Our investigation has found serious and unacceptable breaches in how Welsh Water has operated and maintained its sewage works and networks, which has resulted in excessive spills from storm overflows to the environment.

“We now expect them to focus on putting things right so that customers can regain trust in their water company and the critical service they provide.

“We understand that the public wants to see transformative change. That is why we are prioritising this sector-wide investigation, which is holding companies, like Welsh Water, to account. Pending this consultation, will have issued enforcement action totalling £300m.”

In acknowledging the breaches, Welsh Water has agreed to address the problems identified by the regulator’s investigation and must deliver the proposed £44.7m redress by 2030.

Ofwat said the costs must be absorbed by the company and not through higher customer bills.

A Welsh Water spokesperson said: “We accept the findings of Ofwat’s investigation and apologise for where we have fallen short of the standards that our customers and regulators rightly expect from us.

“We have started a major transformation programme across the company, including within our wastewater services, focused on improving performance, strengthening operational oversight and accelerating investment to deliver better outcomes for rivers and coastal waters.

“The investigation has considered both historic and more recent compliance, and we accept that improvements are needed.”

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