A company has admitted it supplied water that was unfit for human consumption after a parasitic outbreak in Devon.
During a hearing at Exeter Magistrates’ Court, South West Water Ltd pleaded guilty to an offence under s70(1) of the Water Industry Act 1991 to supplying water unfit for human consumption.
Some people were taken to hospital and hundreds of others were also ill during the outbreak in Brixham in May 2024, after the water supply was contaminated by cryptosporidium, a parasite that causes sickness and diarrhoea.
A “boil water” notice was issued to around 17,000 households and businesses in the area, warning people not to use tap water for drinking without boiling it and cooling it first.
For some households, the notice remained in place for eight weeks.
The water firm was prosecuted by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) and faces a fine when it is sentenced at the same court on 2 June.
Howard Leithead, representing the DWI, had asked for the case to be sent to the crown court for sentencing, arguing it is “high-profile or exceptionally sensitive”, adding some complaints say the effects were “long felt after the lifting of the boil water notices”.
But Dominic Kay KC, representing South West Water, said the firm had pleaded guilty at the first instance and had submitted a basis of plea, saying the case could be sentenced by a district judge in the magistrates’ court.
District Judge Stuart Smith rejected the prosecution’s submission and said he would keep jurisdiction.
Read more:
Residents ‘don’t trust the drinking water’ a year after outbreak
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South West Water owner Pennon previously said the final bill for the outbreak reached nearly £40m, adding it was facing costs of around £36m for the supply contamination incident and its “reshaping and transformation programmes”.
After the hearing, the Liberal Democrat MP for South Devon, Caroline Voaden, said: “This admission of guilt has been a long time coming. I am glad that SWW have owned up to their serious failures. This awful event should never have happened.
“But the mismatch between rhetoric and action plagues our broken water industry. Whether it is protecting customers or the environment, too many water firms say one thing, then do another.”
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Marcus Rink, chief inspector of the Drinking Water Inspectorate, said: “The company’s decision to plead guilty to the offences relating to the Brixham incident reflects the seriousness of the failings identified during our investigation.
“While such incidents are very rare, this incident had a significant impact on the public and the wider community.”
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Water minister Emma Hardy added: “Contamination of drinking water is rare but it is utterly unacceptable.
“The communities affected by this abhorrent incident in Brixham deserve answers and today’s guilty plea is a crucial step toward accountability.”
