South West Water fined £1.85m over parasite outbreak in Devon

South West Water handing out emergency rations of bottled water to anyone affected by the parasite outbreak in Brixham, Devon. Photograph: nidpor/Alamy View image in fullscreen South West Water handing out emergency rations of bottled water to anyone affected by the parasite outbreak in Brixham, Devon. Photograph: nidpor/Alamy South West Water fined £1.85m over parasite outbreak in Devon Utility company pleaded guilty to criminal offence of supplying water unfit for humans ‘My son is still suffering’: the ill effects of water contamination in ‘Brixham incident’ A utility company has been fined £1.85m for supplying water unfit for human consumption after a parasite outbreak made hundreds of people sick and forced thousands of households to boil their water. South West Water (SWW) pleaded guilty to the criminal offence relating to a cryptosporidiosis outbreak in Brixham, Devon, in the spring and summer of 2024. Judge Smith said: “This was a serious failure by South West Water . The harm caused was wide-ranging, multilayered and profound.” The judge said water companies were “regional monopolies” with “captive customers” and the outbreak had led to an enduring mistrust of the local tap water. He quoted one resident who said: “In this country we are lucky to have good drinking water but we have lost trust in our water supply.” The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it was a record fine for a drinking water offence. Joe Millington, for the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI), which brought the prosecution, said schools and other services were affected and the local economy hit. Millington said what happened “significantly undermined” people’s confidence in the water supply. He told Exeter magistrates that the outbreak was likely to have been caused by a compromised air valve on farmland, where cattle and sheep were kept. It was covered in mud and a seal was broken, with water pooling across the field. Millington also said that air valves SWW had in place “were not being inspected in accordance with the policy [SWW] drafted in 2020”. He said the farm had never been inspected. “This was a high-risk site,” Millington added. The prosecutor said people suffered diarrhoea, stomach cramps, dizziness and sickness, with 537 becoming ill of which 159 had contact with the healthcare system and 10 were admitted to hospital. He told the court people had been physically and emotionally affected and the outbreak had a “profound” impact on vulnerable members of the community and children. Millington read statements from some of those affected. One who needed hospital treatment said: “My illness made me feel as if I was beaten up and it has been a long process getting over it.” Another said the water tasted as if it had come from a pond and they lost almost a stone. A third said her son needed to be put on a drip in hospital. “Hospital was nothing short of horrendous. He was extremely scared and stressed.” Later he would only bathe in bottled water