Welsh Water faces £44m wastewater enforcement

(by Verity Mitchell)

Ofwat has proposed a £44m enforcement order against Welsh Water.

This followed an investigation that concluded that Welsh Water has breached its legal obligations to adequately maintain and upgrade its wastewater network and treatment plants. Ofwat also found that the senior management and board had failed to ensure that assets were performing satisfactorily, and that there have been insufficient monitoring processes and oversight in place.

The penalty will not be funded by higher bills and the associated work must be completed during AMP8. £40.6m will be spent on reducing spills at specific combined sewer overflows and investigating and sealing the private sewer network to reduce groundwater infiltration. £4.1m will be spent on improving river water quality in particularly sensitive catchment areas. The consultation closes on 2 April.

Ofwat has now agreed seven enforcement orders worth £300m across the sector.