started · updated
South West Water faces sentencing delay and imposes hosepipe ban amid drought
South West Water has been ordered to return to Plymouth Magistrates' Court for sentencing in late September after admitting 18 Environment Agency charges for illegal sewage discharges between 2015 and 2021. The offences include 336 spills near Bodmin that entered the River Camel, 231 discharges onto Harlyn Beach, and an 88‑hour release at Hooe Lake during a 2020 bank‑holiday weekend. The company was previously fined £2.15 million in 2023 and £1.853 million in 2024 for related pollution breaches.
Separately, the utility announced a temporary hosepipe ban effective from 00:01 am on 8 August for customers across Devon, Cornwall, parts of Somerset, Dorset and the Isles of Scilly. The ban, prompted by the driest July on record and ongoing drought conditions, restricts hosepipe use for garden watering, car washing, patio cleaning and pool filling, while normal domestic water use remains permitted. South West Water said it is increasing leak detection, moving water around the network and maximising treatment capacity to protect supplies.
Both actions reflect heightened regulatory and environmental pressure on the water company as it seeks to address past pollution incidents and current water‑scarcity challenges.
Entities
Environment Agency · Harlyn Beach · Hooe Lake · River Camel · Sam Bottomley · South West Water
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.
- [● 3 SOURCES] The offences occurred between January 2015 and July 2021 at five locations: Bodmin, Harlyn, Playing Place, Polperro and Plymouth. www.cornwalllive.com
- [● 3 SOURCES] 17 of the charges relate to illegal sewage discharges and 1 relates to failure to take reasonable remedial measures after a pumping‑station failure. www.cornwalllive.com
- [● 3 SOURCES] Sentencing for South West Water has been delayed to late September, after previously being set for early August. www.cornwalllive.com
- [● 3 SOURCES] A pumping‑station failure at Hooe Lake in August 2020 caused sewage to be discharged continuously for 88 hours over a Bank Holiday weekend. www.cornwalllive.com
- [● 3 SOURCES] Untreated sewage was discharged onto Harlyn Beach on 231 occasions between January 2016 and July 2021. www.cornwalllive.com
- [○ 1 SOURCE] South West Water was fined £2.15 million in 2023 for 13 pollution offences and £1.853 million in June 2024 for drinking‑water failures. www.cornwalllive.com
- [● 3 SOURCES] 336 illegal sewage spills occurred near Bodmin over a seven‑year period to March 2020. www.cornwalllive.com
- [● 3 SOURCES] South West Water admitted 18 criminal charges brought by the Environment Agency. www.cornwalllive.com