Ofwat has today confirmed that Wessex Water will fund an £11 million enforcement package after the company failed to operate, maintain and upgrade its wastewater network adequately to ensure that they could cope with the flows of sewage and wastewater.

The package follows Ofwat’s proposed decision announced on 11 November and a 21-day consultation period where customers and stakeholders could feedback on the draft decision.

The investment will be paid for by the company and its shareholders and not through customer bills.

The package includes:

• Helping private landowners to seal their sewer pipes to prevent unnecessary groundwater reaching Wessex Water's network;
• Reducing spills at specific storm overflows through investment which would have otherwise occurred beyond 2030;
• Installing additional monitoring equipment to better enable management of flows at treatment works and storm overflows;
• Helping customers to sustainably manage rainwater at their properties.

Lynn Parker, Senior Director for Enforcement at Ofwat, said:

“We are pleased with the conclusion of Wessex Water’s case. This is the sixth case completed in our wider wastewater investigation, which during 2025 has resulted in Ofwat securing £250 million in fines and enforcement packages. These cases are a crucial part of holding water companies to account and driving the transformation of the water sector that the public wants to see.”

In enforcement cases, Ofwat can impose financial penalties of up to 10% of a company's relevant turnover.

In deciding whether to impose a penalty and the level of that penalty, Ofwat will take account of the particular facts and circumstances of the case under consideration to establish the appropriate level of penalty to impose.

Had the enforcement package not been accepted, Ofwat would have imposed a penalty where the money would have been returned to the Consolidated Fund operated by HM Treasury.

The sum is over and above the investment Wessex Water is required to deliver under the price review and separate from the steps the company will need to take to become compliant.

The £11 million enforcement package is greater than the penalty Ofwat would otherwise have imposed on the company (which would be £10 million, or 2.5% of Wessex Water’s annual turnover).

Instead, the undertakings mean that the money will remain in the water sector and be spent on making improvements for the benefit of Wessex Water’s customers and the local environment.