2 June 2026 – South West Water fined a record £1.853 million for drinking water failures in Brixham
- South West Water fined following Cryptosporidium outbreak affecting up to 16,000 homes and businesses in Brixham.
- Hundreds of consumers reported illness; boil water notice in place for up to two months from May 2024.
- South West Water pleaded guilty to an offence under section 70(1) of the Water Industry Act 1991.
South West Water has been fined £1,853,000 – a record fine for a drinking water offence – at Exeter Magistrates’ Court following a prosecution by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (the Inspectorate) for drinking water failures that led to a Cryptosporidium outbreak in the Brixham area of Devon.
Between 15 May and 8 July 2024, up to 39,000 consumers were subject to a boil water notice following the detection of Cryptosporidium in the drinking water supply. Over 390 customer contacts reporting illness were received by South West Water during the incident.
South West Water notified the Inspectorate of the incident and subsequently pleaded guilty in court.
The Inspectorate’s investigation found that Cryptosporidium from animal faeces entered the drinking water supply network on agricultural land likely via an exposed and faulty air valve covered in mud. Soil samples taken in the vicinity of the air valve contained Cryptosporidium oocysts whose DNA matched the Brixham strain of the illness. This case is the first prosecution under section 70 of the Water Industry Act 1991 involving Cryptosporidium with confirmed consumer illness in over a decade.
Following the incident, South West Water carried out extensive work to make the water supply safe. This included flushing the network and a specialist deep-clean of the water mains, as well as installing permanent ultraviolet disinfection and fine filtration systems at the two service reservoirs supplying the Brixham area – safeguards that remain in place today.
The Inspectorate also carried out an industry-wide review of how to inspect and maintain air valves across their networks and issued South West Water with a formal legal notice requiring improvements to its air valve risk management.
The Inspectorate will be publishing its findings and conclusions to the event shortly.
Marcus Rink, Chief Inspector of the Drinking Water Inspectorate said:
“This was a major event which had severe consequences for the local community and visitors to the area.
“Thankfully such events are extremely rare, and the UK is one of the countries with the highest drinking water quality in the world. Consumers across England and Wales should continue to have confidence in their drinking water supply.
“It is right that South West Water pleaded guilty to this offence and has been held accountable. The court has considered the evidence from my inspectors’ thorough investigation and rightly recognised the harm this incident caused. Today’s outcome demonstrates that when failings occur, there will be serious consequences.”
As part of its role to ensure that water supplies remain safe, the Inspectorate uses robust, scientific, evidence-based investigatory methods to ensure water companies comply with legislation and are appropriately held to account. South West Water pleaded guilty to an offence under section 70(1) of the Water Industry Act 1991. This legislation makes it a criminal offence for a water company to supply water that is unwholesome or unfit for human consumption.
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.
Notes to editors:
- The outcome of this prosecution was a record £1.853 million, with a victim surcharge of £2,000. Costs of the prosecution of £75,000 will be paid also by South West Water.
- The Drinking Water Inspectorate (the Inspectorate) is the expert technical regulator of drinking water. It checks that water companies in England and Wales supply drinking water that does not put consumers at risk, and that drinking water is wholesome, sufficient and acceptable.
- It is a criminal offence for a water company to supply water in breach of section 70(1) of the Water Industry Act 1991, which requires water companies to supply water that is wholesome and fit for human consumption.
- The Inspectorate investigates all drinking water quality events in England and Wales and will bring prosecutions if it believes that it has reliable evidence that an offence was committed and when such a prosecution is regarded as being in the public interest.
- Cryptosporidium is a microscopic parasite that can cause cryptosporidiosis, an illness characterised by diarrhoea, stomach cramps, nausea and fever
- The incident in Brixham was investigated by the Inspectorate with support from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and local authorities including Torbay Council and South Hams District Council.
- The Inspectorate investigates all reportable drinking water quality events in England and Wales and will bring prosecutions if it believes that it has reliable evidence that an offence was committed and when such a prosecution is regarded as being in the public interest.
ENDS