Anglian Water is due to pay a £68.2m 'redress package' to enhance its waste management quality following an investigation by the º£½ÇÊÓƵ's water watchdog, Ofwat, which found it had violated regulations.
Ofwat discovered that Anglian Water had "fail[ed] to operate and maintain its wastewater assets adequately", and was "systemically breaching" its obligation to manage drainage, as reported by .
The water firm, serving over six million customers in the East of England, also did not implement "adequate processes" to identify and tackle both emerging and existing risks, according to Ofwat.
Anglian has agreed to invest £62.8m to improve the environmental quality in its region and further reduce spills, as stated by Ofwat.
This will be financed by the company and its shareholders, with Ofwat asserting that customers won't bear the cost.
The investment will enable Anglian to evade an enforcement order of financial penalty, as seen in previous similar cases – which would have been £57.1m, 6.5 per cent of its relevant turnover.
The redress package will "deliver a better outcome for customers and the environment" than a fine, according to Ofwat.
As part of the package, Anglian announced it will expedite investment in storm overflows and invest £57m in enhancing wastewater flows in at least eight catchments in its region.
A community fund of £5.8m will back projects delivering environmental and social benefits for local communities.
This compensation package comes after a £24m payment from South West Water earlier this year, while Thames Water and Yorkshire have previously been hit with hefty fines by the º£½ÇÊÓƵ's water regulator.
Earlier this month, the government announced extensive reforms in what has been dubbed the 'biggest overhaul of water regulation in a generation'.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed has labelled the º£½ÇÊÓƵ's water system as 'broken', attributing soaring pollution incidents to years of underinvestment.
