WIREDGOV

Ofwat has today (29 July 2025) proposed a £62.8m enforcement package following its finding that Anglian Water has breached its legal obligations in operating its wastewater treatment works and network.   

• 62.8m to be paid by the company and its shareholders, for the benefit of the environment and their customers.  
• In addition, the company will be required to rectify any identified breaches and ensure its future compliance. 
• A consultation will now follow which will be open for the public and key stakeholders to offer any final comments before Ofwat’s final decision is made. 

Ofwat’s investigation found that Anglian Water has failed to operate, maintain and upgrade its wastewater assets adequately to ensure they could cope with the flows of sewage and wastewater coming to them. The company failed to have in place adequate processes and oversight by its senior management and Board to ensure its assets were performing adequately and that it was meeting the legal requirements expected of it. 

In stepping up to acknowledge what has gone wrong and how it will put things right, Anglian Water and its shareholders will fund a total enforcement package of £62.8m which includes: 

• Creating a £5.8m community fund that will support projects delivering environmental and social benefits for local communities, with a particular focus on restitution of the water environment. 
• Investing £57m in developing and delivering ‘Excess Flow Management Plans’, to remove, attenuate or optimise wastewater flows in at least eight catchments in its region to provide local environmental improvements. 
• Accelerating delivery of investment which the company had already planned for 2025-30 through its Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan. This includes earlier delivery of 36 storm tanks, 45 screens and 42 other deliverables. 
• In addition, the company will develop and deliver a remediation and compliance plan to ensure that all its storm overflows are compliant with the legal requirements considered by our investigation.  

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

“Our investigation has found failures in how Anglian Water has operated and maintained its sewage works and networks, which has resulted in excessive spills from storm overflows. This is a serious breach and is unacceptable. 

“We understand that the public wants to see transformative change. That is why we are prioritising this sector-wide investigation which is holding wastewater companies to account for identified failures. We are pleased Anglian Water has accepted that it got things wrong and is now focusing on putting that right and taking action to come back into compliance. We expect all companies to do the same so that customers can regain confidence in their water company and the critical service they provide.” 

Anglian Water has already taken some steps to restore its compliance and the performance of its wastewater assets. This includes a 2024 commitment from the company and shareholders to invest £100 million to improve its spills and pollutions performance.   

A consultation will now be open to the public and key stakeholders to offer any final comments before Ofwat’s final decision is announced. The consultation can be found here: https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/consultations/  

Following the publication of the Independent Water Commission final report, the UK government has set out a new direction for the water sector with the formation of a new regulator in England. This marks an opportunity to reset the sector, so it delivers better outcomes for customers and the environment. 

Ofwat will now work with the government and other regulators to form this new body in England, combining Ofwat with the Drinking Water Inspectorate and including elements of the Environment Agency and Natural England. We will also continue to engage with the Welsh Government and contribute to discussions on the options for Wales.  

Until these new arrangements are in place, we will keep working hard to drive water companies to improve performance and deliver maximum value for customers, communities, and the environment. 

Notes for Editors  

• You can find a link to the relevant enforcement documents here: https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/regulated-companies/investigations/open-cases/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 this enforcement package not been agreed, a penalty would have been applied where the money would have been returned to the Consolidated Fund operated by HM Treasury.  
• The £62.8m enforcement package Ofwat has secured is greater than if a penalty had otherwise been imposed on the company (which would have been £57.1m, 6.5% of Anglian Water’s annual turnover). 
• Instead, the money will remain in the water sector and be spent on making improvements to service for the benefit of Anglian Water customers and the local environment. 
• This announcement marks the fifth case in Ofwat’s largest and most complex set of investigations into all companies and their management of their wastewater treatment works. It follows the conclusion of cases against Yorkshire Water, Thames Water and Northumbrian Water earlier this year that resulted in enforcement action worth more than £160m. As well as Ofwat’s recent consultation on the proposal for South West Water to pay a £24m enforcement package.