The largest fine to be handed to a water firm to date is the £122.7m penalty water industry regulator Ofwat handed to Thames Water for breaching rules over sewage spills and shareholder payouts in May 2025.
South West Water offered those affected an “unreserved apology” and said it wanted to publicly record its “genuine remorse” for the incident.
Smith said SWW had responded rapidly once the contamination had been discovered, had deployed “substantial personnel” and provided “substantial financial remediation” to those affected.
Keith Haslett, chief executive of the Pennon Group which owns South West Water, said: “It is very clear we must learn lessons from this incident and work hard to rebuild trust with the customers and communities we serve, both in Brixham and beyond.”
