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South West Water faces criticism for high sewage spill duration and incidents
Friends of the Earth says the utility logged 666 pollution incidents or warnings in 2025 and that its customers pay among the highest bills in England.
Friends of the Earth published an analysis ranking water companies’ environmental performance, saying South West Water has the worst environmental record in England.
The group found South West Water recorded 666 pollution incidents or warnings in 2025 across its Devon, Cornwall and parts of Dorset and Somerset operations. It also said the company had the highest total duration of sewage spill events since 2024, averaging 574,323 hours annually, with Severn Trent and Yorkshire Water ranking second and third.
Friends of the Earth said South West Water was among the top three worst performers in four of six categories it assessed, including sewage spill metrics, pollution incidents or warnings at bathing sites, severity of sewage pollution at bathing sites, the share of rivers rated below good ecological health standards, and affordability of bills.
South West Water said it is managing more than a third of England’s designated bathing waters and cited progress including storm overflow spills down 17% and spill duration down 25% over the past year. The company also said it expects to meet new Environment Act bathing water standards by 2030, five years ahead of the national deadline, while the analysis estimated 1.8 million customers faced water bills averaging £726 annually.