South West Water fined £8m for hundreds of sewage spills in Cornwall and Devon

District judge orders record fine for region and says incidents of pollution cannot be tolerated A water company has been ordered to pay a record fine of almost £8m for hundreds of sewage spills at popular bathing spots and sensitive habitats in Cornwall and Devon. On one occasion, untreated sewage gushed through a harbour wall on a bank holiday weekend but South West Water (SWW) engineers took 10 hours to attend. C…

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GuardianSkyBBC

Water firm fined almost £8m for sewage spillages at beauty spots

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South West Water previously entered guilty pleas to pollution offences spanning six years.

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Guardian Published 29 September 2026

South West Water fined £8m for hundreds of sewage spills in Cornwall and Devon

Sky Published 29 September 2026

Water firm fined almost £8m for sewage spillages at beauty spots

South West Water (SWW) has been fined almost £8m for hundreds of sewage spillages across Devon and Cornwall over a six-year period.

BBC Published 29 September 2026

South West Water fined almost £8m for sewage spills

South West Water previously entered guilty pleas to pollution offences spanning six years.

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