Hafren Dyfrdwy has agreed to pay £280,000 over sewage spill failures, following an investigation by Ofwat. The utility provider, which supplies around 109,000 customers across north-east and mid-Wales, was found to have “failed in its duties to deal effectively with wastewater and sewage”.
The investigation found that the company breached its obligations by failing to effectually provide drainage and deal with the contents of its sewers. Hafren Dyfrdwy also did not have the right processes and systems in place to meet requirements.
Enforcement package to be paid by 2030
The £280,000 enforcement package will be paid by 2030 and will be funded by the company and its shareholders, not through higher customer bills. The company will not be allowed to raise the money through higher bills.
This comes after Hafren Dyfrdwy, which is owned by Severn Trent, hiked customer bills by 9% to £635 on average in the 2026/27 financial year.
Ofwat demands action to reduce spills
Lynn Parker, senior director for enforcement at Ofwat, said: “Our investigation found unacceptable breaches by Hafren Dyfrdwy, which have resulted in excessive spills from storm overflows. We are clear this is unacceptable and now expect the company to focus on putting things right so that customers can regain trust in their water company and the critical service they provide.”
Hafren Dyfrdwy must take action including putting in place two storm water balancing tanks to reduce spills, and working with a local preservation trust to help create a wetland habitat.
Ms Parker added: “We understand that the public wants to see transformative change. That is why we are prioritising this sector-wide investigation, which is holding companies, like Hafren Dyfrdwy, to account.”
Company apologises and reports progress
Steph Cawley, Hafren Dyfrdwy’s managing director, said: “We accept Ofwat’s findings and apologise to our customers for these issues that we’re making good progress with resolving. Last year, we reduced average spills to 21.6, from 36.2 the previous year, but we know there’s more to do.”
