BRIXHAM, DEVON — South West Water was fined £1.85 million in 2024 for supplying water unfit for human consumption following a cryptosporidiosis outbreak in Brixham, Devon, during spring and summer 2024. The company pleaded guilty to a criminal offense under the Water Industry Act 1991 related to the incident.
The outbreak caused 537 people to fall ill, with 159 seeking healthcare and 10 hospitalized. Affected individuals reported symptoms including diarrhoea, stomach cramps, dizziness, and sickness. One hospitalized individual said: "My illness made me feel as if I was beaten up and it has been a long process getting over it." Another affected resident said the water tasted as if it had come from a pond and reported losing nearly a stone in weight.
Judge Smith said: "This was a serious failure by South West Water. The harm caused was wide-ranging, multilayered and profound." The judge noted that water companies are "regional monopolies" with "captive customers" and that the outbreak caused enduring mistrust in the local tap water. Judge Smith quoted a resident who said: "In this country we are lucky to have good drinking water but we have lost trust in our water supply."
Joe Millington, representing the Drinking Water Inspectorate, said the outbreak likely originated from a compromised air valve on farmland where cattle and sheep were kept. He described the site as "a high-risk site," noting the valve was covered in mud, had a broken seal, and caused water to pool across the field. Millington added that South West Water’s air valves were not being inspected in accordance with the company’s own 2020 policy and that the farm had never been inspected. He stated that risks associated with air valves had been known for over 10 years and that not a single air valve was inspected prior to the outbreak. Millington also said the outbreak "significantly undermined" public confidence in the water supply.
A parent said her son needed to be put on a drip in hospital and called the experience "nothing short of horrendous" because he was "extremely scared and stressed." After the outbreak, the child would only bathe in bottled water. A woman stated that during the boil-water notice, she had to supervise her four-year-old child while showering to prevent him from drinking the water. A parent reported her child experienced night terrors about a "bug in the water." School pupils missed classes, exams, trips, and sports due to illness. One student said she felt too ill to revise for exams.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs stated the £1.85 million fine was a record for a drinking water offense. Liberal Democrat MP for South Devon Caroline Voaden said: "Words like incompetent and reckless are so often used to describe our broken water industry that they have almost lost their meaning. But the truth is South West Water failed at their most basic duty, and no amount of money will ever fully regain the customer trust they squandered."