South West Water (SWW) has been fined £1.85 million after pleading guilty to supplying water unfit for human consumption, following a cryptosporidiosis outbreak in Brixham, Devon, in spring and summer 2024. The fine is a record for a drinking water offence, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Judge Smith said the failure was serious, causing harm that was “wide-ranging, multilayered and profound”. He noted that water companies are “regional monopolies” with “captive customers”, and the outbreak led to enduring mistrust of local tap water. The court heard that 537 people fell ill, with 159 requiring healthcare and 10 hospitalised.
The outbreak likely originated from a compromised air valve on farmland, where cattle and sheep were kept. The valve was covered in mud, had a broken seal, and was not inspected according to SWW’s own policy drafted in 2020. The farm had never been inspected. SWW’s barrister, Dominic Kay KC, said the company believed there was a second ingress of the parasite via illegal cross-connections between safe drinking water and unsafe water.
Victims described severe symptoms including diarrhoea, stomach cramps, dizziness, and sickness. One resident said they felt “beaten up” and had a long recovery. A mother reported her son needed a hospital drip, and later would only bathe in bottled water due to fear. School pupils missed exams and activities, and Brixham College’s principal said attendance and GCSE results were affected, particularly for disadvantaged children.
The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) noted that risks around air valves had been known for over a decade, and SWW had been advised to implement formal inspection policies four years before the outbreak, but “not a single air valve was inspected”. SWW also wrongly lifted a boil-water notice for 28 houses due to issues with its digital mapping system.
SWW apologised unreservedly and expressed genuine remorse. The company said it had created an inspection policy but failed to implement it. Kay argued that the valve’s cover had been deliberately removed, allowing contamination. The court heard SWW has had 22 previous convictions.
