NEWS

South West Water ordered to repay £17.4 million to customers as poor performance penalty

Ofwat annual regulatory report finds company sewer collapse and serious pollution incident rates are worst in England and Wales, with customer satisfaction decline among largest in industry.

Leigh Curtis

South West Water has been ordered to repay £17.4 million to its customers for poor performance after the company recorded the highest proportions of both sewer collapses and serious pollution incidents among England and Wales water companies during 2023-24.

Industry regulator Ofwat’s annual performance report found that South West Water reported an 80% year on year increase in serious pollution incidents with 111 such incidents per 10,000km of sewer.

The company’s rate was close to double that of the next poorest performing water authority, Southern Water, and five times higher than Ofwat targets.

South West Water also recorded 13.7 sewer collapses per 1,000km of sewer, close to double the industry average.

It nevertheless reported a fall in the volume of water lost from its distribution system, and was judged to have have met or performed better than the target in this area.

However Ofwat launched an investigation into its leakage performance reporting last May and says the outcome may result in changes to the company’s figures on this measure.

Serious pollution incidents per 10,000km of sewer 2023-24 graphic Serious pollution incidents per 10,000km of sewer 2023-24. Source: Ofwat.

Ofwat said 2023-24 industry-wide performance was “disappointing” and ordered firms to pay back a total of £157.6 million in the form of reduced bills for 2025-26, the fourth year in a row for which customers will be refunded.

It said that despite water company promises to reduce pollution incidents by 30% these had fallen by just 2% to date.

South West Water’s £17.4 million underperformance penalty, up from £9.2 million last year, is lower than the penalties imposed on seven of the other sixteen England and Wales companies. Thames Water has been ordered to refund £56.8 million to its customers.

Ofwat set water company performance targets for each of the five years to 2025 to “deliver better outcomes, for both customers and the environment”, and imposes penalties when they fall short. It has issued penalties of more than £430 million since 2020.

Ofwat underperformance penalties 2023-24 graphic Ofwat underperformance penalties 2023-24. Source: Ofwat.

Water company performance is graded against a range of twelve targets with Ofwat assigning an overall rating of “leading”, “average” or “lagging behind” to each company.

South West Water was judged “average” for the second year in a row in 2023-24 after previously “lagging behind”.

Following its 2021-22 performance, Ofwat required it to produce service commitment plans setting out how it would deliver improvements. These were published in November last year.

Subscribe to The Exeter Digest - Exeter Observer's essential free email newsletter

Your personal information will be processed and stored in accordance with our Privacy Policy

Ofwat’s 2023-24 report said that companies were falling further behind on key targets for pollution and internal sewer flooding and that, for the second year running, no company achieved the top performance rating.

Ofwat CEO David Black said: “This year’s performance report is stark evidence that money alone will not bring the sustained improvements that customers rightly expect.

“Companies must implement actions now to improve performance, be more dynamic, agile and on the front foot of issues. And not wait until the government or regulators tell them to act.”

He added that customer satisfaction had continued to fall and was now at its lowest level since the measure was introduced in 2020-21.

South West Water remains among the worst performers in the industry on this metric, and was one of three companies which saw the largest percentage decline in satisfaction scores last year.


Democracy doesn't work when people don't know who is deciding what on whose behalf and what the costs and consequences of those decisions will be.

Exeter Observer is proving that reader-funded media can deliver the independent public interest journalism our local democracy needs.

Upgrade to a paid Exeter Observer subscription to support our work and get access to exclusive premium content and more.

More stories
Save Northbrook Pool campaigners dressed in black outside Exeter City Council's offices on 24 June 2025

Labour councillors dive deeper into denial in decision to abandon Northbrook pool

Exeter residents mourn as council suppresses destructive consequences of creating St Sidwell’s Point complex that looms in leisure service shadows like a leviathan.

Devon & Torbay Combined County Authority draft local growth plan infographic

Devon & Torbay CCA keeps quiet about 2025-35 Local Growth Plan as it takes charge of regional development agenda

Combined County Authority privately selects unspecified stakeholders to co-author document setting out strategic priorities but with little of substance to say on addressing region’s structural challenges.

Northbrook pool

Exeter City Council fields false prospectus in determination to close Northbrook pool

Ian Collinson reports double down on misrepresentation, material omission and flat denial as council plans to rend more of city’s fabric from its roots.

Clifton Hill sports centre redevelopment site

Second undervalue sale of Clifton Hill sports centre site after buyback loss leaves city with £3m less than initial market value

Council sold land for £2.14m – at £2.11m discount – then bought it back for £3.037m before selling again for £3.375m at £425,000 discount with £225,000 sweetener after also agreeing to spend net £600,000 on preparation, marketing and disposal costs.

Mary Arches car parks redevelopment site aerial view

300-bed “co-living” blocks to trump social housing vision for Mary Arches car parks

More people could be crammed into Eutopia Homes complex than current car parking spaces after Exeter City Council commits to “homes for the people of Exeter” on Liveable Exeter North Gate site.

Exeter Public Spaces Protection Order boundary map

Exeter City Council renews Public Spaces Protection Order for three more years

Measure introduced to curb anti-social behaviour in 2017 extended to 2028 following consultation limited to selected consultees.

On Our Radar
Illustration of Hansel and Gretel by Arthur Rackham

SATURDAY 12 JULY 2025

Fairy Tales in Opera and Piano Music

A fairy tale-themed concert for children and their families.

ST NICHOLAS PRIORY

St Thomas churchyard

SATURDAY 19 JULY 2025

Love St Thomas Summer Festival

New community event launches with live music, talks, workshops, stalls, refreshments and family-friendly activities.

ST THOMAS CHURCHYARD

Summer at the Quayside illustration

TUESDAY 29 JULY TO FRIDAY 29 AUGUST 2025

Summer at the Quayside

A month of free family activities including weaving, felting, doodling and drumming.

EXETER QUAY