Latest news with #PennonGroup
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Relief in Brixham as South West Water boss retires
South West Water (SWW) boss Susan Davy's retirement has come as a welcome relief for one customer. Brixham resident Louise Harcarova-Geary fell ill during the cryptosporidium outbreak along with her young daughter in 2024. The outbreak, which left 143 people ill and led to four hospitalisations, was traced to a contaminated reservoir. Ms Davy's retirement was a "good thing, because there might be some change from this", said Ms Harcarova-Geary. Pennon Group, which owns SWW, praised her leadership, with chairman David Sproul saying she navigated the group "through some challenging external headwinds to emerge stronger and more resilient". Ms Harcarova-Geary, who still relies on bottled water a year after the outbreak, said she had lost trust in the company's supply. "Hopefully funds can be distributed properly to make sure our water integration system is properly maintained going forward," she said. Ms Davy, who had been with SWW's parent company Pennon Group for nearly two decades, faced mounting criticism for her handling of the crisis. Just a day before her retirement was announced, water regulator Ofwat revealed a £24m enforcement package against SWW, citing failings in how the company managed its network. Cryptosporidium outbreak in Brixham: Contaminated drinking water led to 143 confirmed illnesses and four hospitalisations in 2024 Regulatory action by Ofwat: Ofwat found failings in South West Water's management of wastewater treatment and sewer networks. A £24m enforcement package was introduced to avoid a £19m fine Environmental and pollution concerns: In June, one of SWW's treatment works was the source of pollution that killed thousands of fish in a Cornish river Repeated storm overflow incidents In April a burst water main in Plymouth left hundreds of homes and businesses without water for several days In a statement, Pennon Group praised Ms Davy's leadership, highlighting her role in acquiring three other water companies and overseeing a £4.2bn sale of waste firm Viridor. The company also noted her announcement of a record £3.2bn capital investment programme over the next five years. Pennon's board will conduct a formal search for a successor, during which time Ms Davy will continue to helm the company, it said in a statement. Details of Ms Davy's retirement compensation will be published on the company's website, it said. She will be treated as a "good leaver" under the board's remuneration policy. Ms Davy said: "Running a water company is always interesting, often challenging, but totally fulfilling "I have enjoyed taking responsibility for the provision of a sustainable service to millions of homes." Follow BBC Cornwall on X, Facebook and Instagram. Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@ South West Water boss Susan Davy to retire Enforcement action of £24m for water firm failures Watch: South West Water boss on bills and spills South West Water
BBC News
12-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Relief in Brixham as South West Water boss Susan Davy retires
South West Water (SWW) boss Susan Davy's retirement has come as a welcome relief for one resident Louise Harcarova-Geary fell ill during the cryptosporidium outbreak along with her young daughter in 2024. The outbreak, which left 143 people ill and led to four hospitalisations, was traced to a contaminated Davy's retirement was a "good thing, because there might be some change from this", said Ms Group, which owns SWW, praised her leadership, with chairman David Sproul saying she navigated the group "through some challenging external headwinds to emerge stronger and more resilient". Ms Harcarova-Geary, who still relies on bottled water a year after the outbreak, said she had lost trust in the company's supply."Hopefully funds can be distributed properly to make sure our water integration system is properly maintained going forward," she Davy, who had been with SWW's parent company Pennon Group for nearly two decades, faced mounting criticism for her handling of the a day before her retirement was announced, water regulator Ofwat revealed a £24m enforcement package against SWW, citing failings in how the company managed its network. What issues did Susan Davy face? Cryptosporidium outbreak in Brixham: Contaminated drinking water led to 143 confirmed illnesses and four hospitalisations in 2024Regulatory action by Ofwat: Ofwat found failings in South West Water's management of wastewater treatment and sewer networks. A £24m enforcement package was introduced to avoid a £19m fineEnvironmental and pollution concerns: In June, one of SWW's treatment works was the source of pollution that killed thousands of fish in a Cornish riverRepeated storm overflow incidents In a statement, Pennon Group praised Ms Davy's leadership, highlighting her role in acquiring three other water companies and overseeing a £4.2bn sale of waste firm Viridor. The company also noted her announcement of a record £3.2bn capital investment programme over the next five board will conduct a formal search for a successor, during which time Ms Davy will continue to helm the company, it said in a of Ms Davy's retirement compensation will be published on the company's website, it said. She will be treated as a "good leaver" under the board's remuneration Davy had said: "Running a water company is always interesting, often challenging, but totally fulfilling"I have enjoyed taking responsibility for the provision of a sustainable service to millions of homes."
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
South West Water boss Susan Davy to retire
The chief executive officer of Pennon Group which runs South West Water has announced her retirement. Susan Davy, who is also on the board of Pennon Group, served as CEO for five years and has been chief financial officer since 2015. She said: "Running a water company is always interesting, often challenging, but totally fulfilling. I have enjoyed taking responsibility for the provision of a sustainable service to millions of homes." A £24m enforcement package for South West Water (SWW) was proposed on Thursday after a three-year investigation into its failures in managing wastewater treatment works and sewer networks. David Sproul, chairman of Pennon Group, said Ms Davy had navigated the group through some "challenging external headwinds to emerge stronger and more resilient". "Susan will continue to lead the group whilst we appoint her successor, ensuring a smooth and orderly succession," he said. A statement from Pennon Group added: "After more than 18 years with the group, and nearly 30 years in the water sector, Susan has decided the time is right for her to hand over to a new leader." Follow BBC Cornwall on X, Facebook and Instagram. Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@ This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version. You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts. Enforcement action of £24m for water firm failures Watch: South West Water boss on bills and spills
BBC News
11-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Pennon Group CEO announces retirement
The chief executive officer of Pennon Group which runs South West Water has announced her Davy, who is also on the board of Pennon Group, served as CEO for five years and has been chief financial officer since said: "Running a water company is always interesting, often challenging, but totally fulfilling. I have enjoyed taking responsibility for the provision of a sustainable service to millions of homes." A £24m enforcement package for South West Water (SWW) was proposed on Thursday after a three-year investigation into its failures in managing wastewater treatment works and sewer networks. This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.
Daily Mail
10-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
South West Water to pay £24m to settle wastewater and sewer failures
Britain's water regulator has imposed a £24million enforcement package on South West Water after a probe unearthed a 'range of failures'. Ofwat said on Thursday that South West Water did not construct and manage its wastewater treatment works and sewer networks to 'ensure they performed sufficiently'. It said the company, owned by Pennon Group, lacked the systems to ensure it was satisfying legal obligations, including 'adequate oversight' from the board and senior management. As a result, Ofwat has proposed that the business and its shareholders pay £24million to benefit customers and the local environment. Of the funding, £20million over the coming five years will go towards reducing spills from storm overflows, particularly in environmentally sensitive areas. South West Water has also agreed to establish a £2million fund aimed at combating sewer misuse and misconnections. Errors: Ofwat found that South West Water did not construct and manage its wastewater treatment works and sewer networks to 'ensure they performed sufficiently' A similar amount will be provided through a nature recovery fund to support groups delivering 'measurable environmental gains'. Lynn Parker, senior director for enforcement at Ofwat, said: 'Water companies should be in no doubt that they will be held to account if they fail to meet their legal obligations to customers and the environment. 'Our investigation found a range of failures in how South West Water has gone about managing its wastewater business.' Ofwat noted South West Water had taken steps to improve operations, including the introduction of new governance arrangements to enable better supervision of its environmental obligations. The Exeter-headquartered firm has also made investments to scrutinise and improve the running of some of its treatment works and storm overflows. South West Water manages the water and wastewater services for 1.8 million customers across Devon, Cornwall, parts of Dorset and Somerset. Its parent company saw losses climb by about eightfold to £72.7million last year, partly owing to a parasite outbreak in Brixham, Devon, that left some people hospitalised. Ofwat's announcement follows similar probes by the regulator into Yorkshire Water, Thames Water, and Northumbrian Water earlier this year, which collectively resulted in enforcement action of over £160million. Parker added: 'As we continue to progress our sector-wide investigation, we are pleased that companies, like South West Water, are stepping up to acknowledge their failures and to put things right. 'We will continue to monitor the company to ensure that this work is carried out as quickly as possible so that customer confidence can begin to be restored.' Pennon Group shares were 0.7 per cent higher at 497.4p on Thursday morning, although their value has contracted by around 61 per cent over the past five years.
