Image description: A person in a grey jumper filling up a glass with tap water. Photo by SHTTEFAN on Unsplash
A record fine
South West Water has been fined a record £1.853 million at Exeter Magistrates’ Court after a faulty air valve allowed Cryptosporidium into the Brixham drinking water supply in 2024. 537 people were left unwell and ten were hospitalised. The company also faces a £2,000 victim surcharge and prosecution costs of £75,000, and pleaded guilty to an offence under section 70(1) of the Water Industry Act 1991 – supplying water unfit for human consumption.
What happened in Brixham
Between 15 May and 8 July 2024, up to 39,000 consumers in Brixham, Kingswear and Paignton were subject to a boil water notice, with around 16,000 households and businesses affected, and the DWI received over 390 customer contacts reporting illness. The DWI’s investigation found that the parasite entered the network from animal faeces on agricultural land, likely via an exposed and faulty air valve covered in mud, with nearby soil samples found to match the strain detected in the Brixham supply. District Judge Stuart Smith described the case as a “serious failure” to protect the public and “a systemic failure of governance within the organisation,” with the DWI noting it was the first prosecution under section 70 involving Cryptosporidium with confirmed consumer illness in more than a decade.
Remediation and industry-wide implications
South West Water has stated it carried out remedial work to restore and protect the supply, including flushing and a specialist deep-clean of the mains network, and the installation of permanent ultraviolet disinfection and fine filtration at the two service reservoirs feeding Brixham. The DWI also conducted an industry-wide review of air-valve inspection and maintenance practices and issued the company with a formal legal notice requiring improvements to its air-valve risk management. New Pennon CEO Keith Haslett, who has been in post a few weeks, said the company must learn lessons from the incident and rebuild trust with affected customers and communities.