Dŵr Cymru to pay out £44.7m over sewage spills after ‘serious’ failures

Holly Williams, Press Association Business Editor

Dŵr Cymru will pay out £44.7 million after failures in its sewage network and oversight led to a series of spills and must now focus on “putting things right”, regulator Ofwat has announced.

The water watchdog said it had accepted the supplier’s redress package, which was first proposed in March, following consultation.

Ofwat said the supplier failed to properly operate, maintain and upgrade its wastewater network to ensure it could cope with levels of sewage and wastewater, and did not have adequate processes in place or oversight by senior bosses.

The enforcement package will include £40.6 million to reduce spills at specific overflows and reduce the environmental damage caused, tackle groundwater entering the sewer network, as well as an extra £4.1 million to improve river quality in “extremely sensitive catchments”.

Ofwat said the package was more than the £40 million that would otherwise have been imposed as a fine and stressed it would be funded by the company and not added to customer bills.

Lynn Parker, senior director for enforcement at Ofwat, said: “Our investigation found serious and unacceptable breaches in how Dwr Cymru Welsh Water has operated its wastewater assets which has resulted in excessive spills to the environment.

“With this investigation now concluded, we expect the company to focus on putting things right so that customers can regain trust in their water company.”

Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water acknowledged that its service had fallen short and said it was investing to improve spills, leaks and water quality.

In a separate report on investment over the past year, the group said: “While the company recognises performance remains below the standards customers rightly expect in a number of areas, there have been early signs of improvement during 2025-26.”

It said the package agreed with Ofwat will “fund measures to reduce spills from storm overflows, tackle groundwater entering the sewer network and improve river water quality in sensitive catchments”.

But the payout comes amid more painful bills hikes for Welsh Water customers, who saw their bills increase by another 4.8% in April for 2026-27, taking the average annual bill from £652 to £683.

Dŵr Cymru chief executive Roch Cheroux said: “We know that in some areas we have not delivered the level of service our customers and communities expect, particularly on environmental performance.

“That is why we are investing at record levels to improve resilience, strengthen ageing infrastructure and deliver more reliable services, while keeping bills as affordable as possible.”

‘Furious’

Welsh Liberal Democrat Westminster Spokesperson David Chadwick MP, said: “These findings confirm what communities across Wales have known for years: Welsh Water has been failing to do its job while rivers, streams and coastlines have paid the price.

“People will be rightly furious that it has taken intervention from Ofwat and a £44.7 million enforcement package to force action on failings that should have been addressed years ago. Dwr Cymru likes to present itself as different from other water companies, yet despite its not-for-profit model, it has still overseen serious wastewater failures, and they have still paid out massive executive bonuses.

“The Welsh Liberal Democrats will continue to push for far stronger regulations, backed by properly resourced enforcement, to ensure polluters are held accountable, and our rivers are properly protected.”

---

Get more trusted Welsh news

Choose Nation.Cymru as a preferred source in Google News to see more of our journalism.