Northumbrian Water has agreed to a £15.7m enforcement package after an Ofwat probe into its wastewater practices.
Last summer, the water watchdog signalled its intention to impose a £17m penalty on the regional utility for "routinely" permitting sewage discharges into rivers and the sea. At the time, Northumbrian Water expressed its "disappointment" with the decision, citing efforts to "exceed" governmental environmental benchmarks.
Now, the company has agreed to implement a suite of remedial actions worth £15.7m. This amount will be funded by the company and its shareholders – not by its customers – aimed at benefiting both consumers and the local environment, with Ofwat confirming "it ensures, this money will remain in the water sector and be spent on making improvements to services for the benefit of Northumbrian Water customers and the local environment".
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In a move to rectify the situation, Northumbrian Water is dedicating funds to various initiatives, including a £2m injection into its Branch Out Fund, which provides grants of up to £10,000 for community projects focused on enhancing the natural environment.
Northumbrian Water has committed to a sizable £2m investment aimed at reducing spills from specific overflow points, complemented by an £8.3m injection into Tyneside's cutting-edge Sewer Smart Network. This network, enhanced by 800 sophisticated sensors, automated mechanisms, and real-time software, strives to increase capacity and curb spillages – with a target to slash area spills by 15% and the volume of spills by 30%, reports .
Furthermore, Northumbrian Water is pumping £3.4m into fitting Flow to Full Treatment monitors across 19 sites and pledges to fully align the Whitburn system with environmental regulations in cooperation with the Environment Agency.
Ofwat's senior director for enforcement, Lynn Parker, said: "Our investigation has found failures in how Northumbrian Water has operated and maintained some of its sewage works and networks, which has resulted in excessive spills from storm overflows. The contraventions we have found at some of their sites will have had an impact on the local environment and customers and it is unacceptable.
"We are pleased that Northumbrian Water has agreed this package. We now expect them to move at pace to correct the issues our investigation has identified. We hope more companies will follow this example so that the public sees transformative change across the sector."
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Northumbrian Water's CEO Heidi Mottram said: "At Northumbrian Water we are working hard to improve our waste management processes and we are currently delivering the biggest and most ambitious environmental improvement plan in our history. Over the next five years we are investing more than £1bn to minimise the number of spills from storm overflows and help improve our coasts and rivers.
"This year's Environment Agency data shows that spills from our storm overflows are decreasing and we're confident that this good progress will continue thanks to our world leading Smart Sewers project, which uses AI to predict rainfall, and hold it in tanks and the sewer network to prevent storm overflows spilling. Like our customers, we care deeply about protecting the environment and reducing storm overflow use is one of the important contributions that we can make towards doing that.
"We want to reassure our customers that when the issues at a small number of our sites were identified during the Ofwat investigation in 2021, we acted quickly and addressed them immediately before there was any material harm to the environment. We agree with Ofwat's announcement that the financial settlement will be directed into speeding up our storm overflow reduction plans and in meaningful local initiatives via our Branch Out fund."
Durham Wildlife Trust's chief executive, Jim Cokill, added: "Steps must be taken to prevent harm to the natural environment. Following the OFWAT investigation, Northumbrian Water's decision to invest in nature's recovery in our region through the Branch Out scheme is a positive step.
"Significant nature restoration initiatives, like Durham Wildlife Trust's Great North Fen project, will be able to benefit from these funds. The Trust will be able to deliver long lasting improvements for both people and wildlife, building on the long term support provided by Northumbrian Water through Branch Out and other initiatives."