\n<\/p>\n
Ofwat has confirmed that Anglian Water must spend \u00a362.8m on improvements because of “excessive” sewage spills in times of storms.<\/p>\n
The water regulator had already proposed the penalty for the private company<\/a> earlier this summer.<\/p>\n Ofwat has also revealed that 16% of sewage plants owned by Anglian Water did not have the necessary capacity to hold untreated sewage at times of high rainfall, risking it pouring into rivers.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the firm, which serves most of the East of England, said it would spend \u00a31bn reducing sewage discharge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ofwat also ordered South West Water to spend \u00a324m on improvements.<\/p>\n “These are serious breaches and are unacceptable,” said Lynn Parker, senior director for enforcement at Ofwat.<\/p>\n “We understand that the public wants to see transformative change.<\/p>\n “That is why we are prioritising this sector-wide investigation which is holding wastewater companies to account for identified failures.”<\/p>\n She said she was pleased both companies had accepted they “got things wrong” and were “focusing on putting that right”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ofwat started its investigation into Anglian Water in March 2022.<\/p>\n It found the firm was discharging untreated sewage into rivers and did not have the monitoring equipment to know if or where discharges might be happening.<\/p>\n