Severn Trent spared Ofwat fine after ‘serious’ waterwaste and sewage failures

Regulator found ‘unacceptable’ breaches in water company’s handling of drainage and sewage network The water company Severn Trent has been spared a fine by the industry regulator despite “serious and unacceptable breaches” in its handling of wastewater and sewage. The watchdog, Ofwat, which has been investigating how wastewater and sewage networks are managed across the industry, found that the FTSE 100 company had breached its duties by failing to effectively provide drainage and deal with the contents of its sewers. Severn Trent, which supplies water to more than 8 million people across England and Wales, did not have the systems and processes in place required to monitor and maintain its network during the period examined, Ofwat said. Severn Trent is the eighth case that Ofwat has completed in its industry-wide wastewater investigation, which has resulted in fines and enforcement packages worth more than £300m. In all other seven cases, Ofwat issued fines ranging from £11m to £104m. The biggest penalty was for Thames Water in May last year over wastewater failures. Ofwat highlighted that, unlike the previous seven cases, Severn Trent proactively identified problems