Water companies face £168m fines for dumping sewage in rivers and seas

The industry regulator uncovered a 'catalogue of failure' by the companies

Thames Water, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water are the companies who face the fines, which come as part of Ofwat's largest ever investigation into water company performance.

Ofwat found that the three companies failed to adequately invest in and maintain their networks, leading to repeated releases of raw sewage into the country’s waterways.

It proposed fines of £104m for Thames Water, £47m for Yorkshire Water and £17m for Northumbrian Water.

The proposal will now go to public consultation, the BBC reports.

This comes after growing anger over the actions of the water companies. Last year, sewage spills into England's rivers and seas more than doubled.

The regulator's Chief Executive David Black said: “Ofwat has uncovered a catalogue of failure by Thames Water, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water in how they ran their sewage works and this resulted in excessive spills from storm overflows.

"Our investigation has shown how they routinely released sewage into our rivers and seas, rather than ensuring that this only happens in exceptional circumstances as the law intends."

The water companies were notified about Ofwat's provisional findings in December 2023, and had the opportunity to provide any further evidence for the regulator to consider.