South West Water has entered a guilty plea following the court hearing on 4 March at Exeter Magistrates’ Court in relation to the Cryptosporidiosis outbreak event in the Brixham area in 2024 when Cryptosporidium was detected in the drinking water supply.

The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) has announced that a court summons has been issued to South West Water Limited for prosecution for potential offences under section 70(1) of the Water Industry Act 1991 following its investigation into the Cryptosporidiosis outbreak event in the Brixham area in 2024.

Almost two million water quality tests will now be carried out each year following a significant expansion of South East Water’s state-of-the-art laboratory in Farnborough. The drinking water company recently secured a new contract with Southern Water to provide drinking water testing services for Southern Water customers.

Pennon Group’s latest trading update published this morning has flagged up its strong investment grade credit rating and the launch of its £2.5 billion Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) programme in July with an inaugural £400 million public bond issuance.

David Harris, Managing Director of Water Services at South West Water, explains how the water company is continuing to learn lessons following the cryptosporidium outbreak in Brixham - one of the key lessons learnt is the importance of early detection.

South West Water yesterday lifted the boil water notice for a further 731 properties in the Summercombe and Chestnut Drive supply zone – but it still remains in place for another 678 properties on a different part of the network.

Over six weeks since South West Water first issued a Boil Water Notice following a cryptosporidium outbreak which at one stage impacted 16,000 households and businesses in the Brixham area, the notice still remains in place for a number of customers.

Almost a month after South West Water identified the cryptosporidium in its network and advised 16,000 customers to boil their water before drinking it, the Boil Water Notice still remains in place for over 2000 customers in the Brixham area.

Process filter manufacturer Amazon Filters has reiterated its message to UK water companies to ensure ‘plug-and-play’ filtration units are readily available for potential emergencies.

South West Water has now reduced the number of customers impacted by the boil water notice in the Brixham area after water quality monitoring results confirmed no traces of cryptosporidium in the Alston supply area.