South West Water update after Plymouth pollution incidents

South West Water says it has made vital improvements after causing pollution incidents in Plymouth. The utilities company stressed it had taken action to prevent a repeat of incidents which led to it appearing in court this week.

SWW admitted allowing raw sewage into Hooe Lake and polluting Budshead Creek, in Whitleigh, when it appeared before city magistrates. It also pleaded guilty to polluting Padstow Harbour and will be sentenced on all five charges at a later date.

Following the court appearance, South West Water today told PlymouthLive it had invested in all the areas affected to prevent further issues. A spokesperson said: “We are absolutely clear that any pollution is unacceptable. While these incidents should never have happened, they did not occur because we don’t care, we do, and we have taken action to make sure they never happen again.”

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“Our teams care deeply about protecting the environment where we live, and they work around the clock to prevent incidents such as these from happening. While we were unable to prevent these isolated incidents that took place between 2019-2020, we are doing everything we can to protect our region.”

SWW said it had already taken steps to rectify problems in Plymouth where it had been charged with discharging “poisonous, noxious or polluting matter” - namely untreated sewage - into Hooe Lake from the pumping station there between August 27 and September 2, 2020, contrary to regulations. It also admitted a second charge at the same place and on the same dates, of breaching an environmental permit by discharging raw sewage equal to or in excess of the amount allowed due to rainfall, again contrary to regulations.

SWW has since then made major upgrades at Hooe Lake Pumping Station, during 2020 and 2021, which have “collectively increased the reliability and functionality of the site for now and into the future”.

SWW also admitted two charges relating to Bodmin Road, in Whitleigh, between August 27 and 29, 2020. The company was charged with causing a water discharge into freshwater at Budshead Creek of “poisonous, noxious or polluting matter” beyond what was authorised by an environmental permit, and contrary to regulations. It also admitted to a similar offence at the same location on September 6.

The company stressed it has since replaced the length of sewer pipe that had collapsed in this area. Meanwhile, across the wider Plymouth catchment, SWW plans to reduce environmental impact from its sewerage network, and contribute towards improving bathing water quality at Plymouth Hoe. The company said it is investing about £20m up to March 2025 to achieve this.

SWW is also looking at ways to reduce the amount of sea water coming into its network through work on the sewer, separating surface water entering our network, and increasing the amount of wastewater that can be treated at Plymouth Central Sewage Treatment Works.

The company had also admitted, at Plymouth magistrates court, that between August 24 and 27, 2019, and not in accordance with an environmental permit, it caused a water discharge into Polperro Harbour, once again contrary to regulations. SWW stressed that it has now donated £50,000 to the Polperro Harbour Trustees, of which £25,000 was put towards the Prince of Wales Pier restoration project and £25,000 towards repairs to the outer jetty.

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