Bedfordshire provider Anglian Water ordered to pay £62.8m over sewage works failures
One of the main water providers operating in the Bedfordshire area has been ordered to pay a substantial penalty in regards to its wastewater treatment.
Anglian Water has been told by Ofwat to pay a £62.8m package to the watchdog.
Ofwat is calling on the water company to pay a redress package after inspectors found failures in how the network managed its sewage works.
Anglian Water has acknowledged its need to make improvements to its services to regain the trust of customers.
Lynn Parker, Ofwat's senior director for enforcement, said: "Our investigation has found failures in how Anglian Water has operated and maintained its sewage works and networks, which has resulted in excessive spills from storm overflows. This is a serious breach and is unacceptable."
According to the director, Anglian Water is now “taking action to come back into compliance” and has acknowledged the short-comings.
Anglian Water says the package will be divided into two segments with £5.8m going towards environmental community projects within the region it covers. A fund will be made available to local organisations who can pitch projects that would be worthy of investment.
The remaining £57m will go towards what the company is calling complex issues and specific place-based challenges. “This will include installing sustainable drainage solutions (SuDS) to combat drainage and flooding issues, upgrading community-owned assets that contribute to flooding, and other local initiatives,” an Anglian Water spokesperson confirmed.
After Ofwat’s report the provider has also put together a longer term action plan which is designed to ensure spills from storm overflows are minimised and assets are compliant with legal requirements.
Mark Thurston, CEO for Anglian Water, said: We understand the need to rebuild trust with customers and that aspects of our performance need to improve to do that. Reducing pollutions and spills is our number one operational focus, and we have both the investment and the partners in place to deliver on those promises as part of our £11bn business plan over the next five years. In the meantime, we have proposed this redress package, recognising the need to invest in the communities and environments most impacted.”