South West Water fined £1.8m over Devon parasite outbreak

South West Water has been fined almost £2m after the supply in and around Brixham, Devon, was contaminated with the parasite cryptosporidium.

The utility firm was sentenced to the record fine for a drinking water offence at Exeter Magistrates' Court following a prosecution brought by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI).

Four people were hospitalised and there were more than 140 confirmed cases of sickness and diarrhoea during the 54-day incident in May 2024.

Judge Stuart Smith told the court it had been "a major public health incident" in which "disruption to daily life was extensive".

He said the harm had been "wide-ranging and profound" and the system of monitoring air valves had been "inadequate".

He said the "unvarnished reality" was there had been no visual inspection scheme of air valves which showed a "systemic failure of governance" of South West Water.

Smith said there had been mitigating factors and he had reduced the £1.853m fine by a third as the company had entered an early guilty plea.

The largest fine to be handed to a water firm to date is the £122.7m penalty water industry regulator Ofwat handed to Thames Water for breaching rules over sewage spills and shareholder payouts in May 2025.

South West Water offered those affected an "unreserved apology" and said it wanted to publicly record its "genuine remorse" for the incident.

Smith said the company had responded rapidly once the contamination had been discovered, had deployed "substantial personnel" and provided "substantial financial remediation" to those affected.

Keith Haslett, chief executive of the Pennon Group which owns South West Water, said: "It is very clear we must learn lessons from this incident and work hard to rebuild trust with the customers and communities we serve, both in Brixham and beyond."

The first cases of people affected by the water parasite outbreak were confirmed by the UK Health Security Agency on 14 May 2024, the run-up to the May Bank Holiday.

The judge told the court: "Businesses were heavily impacted during what should have been a high season period."

On 15 May 2024, the company confirmed traces of cryptosporidium had been found in the supply network and issued a boil water notice to about 17,000 homes and businesses in and around Brixham.

Advice not to drink tap water without boiling it remained in place for 54 days for some properties in the area, before it was finally lifted on 8 July.

The DWI's investigation found cryptosporidium from animal faeces had entered the drinking water supply network on agricultural land, likely via an exposed and faulty air valve covered in mud.

DWI chief inspector Marcus Rink said: "While serious incidents like this are rare, this case highlights how crucial it is for companies to maintain the highest standards - or face serious consequences if they fail to do so."

In victim statements summarised to the court by Joe Millington, representing the DWI, people spoke of the impact the outbreak had on their lives.

One person described flu-like symptoms for about 10 days before experiencing vomiting and diarrhoea, leading to them being taken to hospital by ambulance.

"My illness made me feel as if I had been beaten up," they said.

"It was a long process of getting over it."

Another person described drinking a glass of water from their kitchen tap which "tasted like it had come from a pond" before experiencing diarrhoea during a family holiday in Spain.

The court heard they had not eaten for eight days and lost almost a stone in weight.

Jennifer Watts, 52, described how her 10-year-old son spent three nights in hospital.

"One of my biggest fears is that life will never be the same again after this experience," she said.

The total penalty handed to South West Water on Tuesday was £1.93m, comprising a £1.853m fine, a surcharge of £2,000 and costs of £75,000.

The fine set a new record for water pollution offences but South Devon MP Caroline Voaden said it was not enough.

She said: "It is disappointing after this lengthy saga to see South West Water escape with such a small fine.

"I am sure many in Brixham will feel the punishment dished out to South West Water does not reflect the seriousness of the contamination or the effects it had on public health and the local economy."