Severn Trent's Welsh water firm ordered to pay £280,000 over sewage spills while its customers face a £54 bill hike

Hafren Dyfrdwy, Severn Trent's Welsh subsidiary serving 109,000 customers across north-east and mid-Wales, has been ordered to pay £280,000 after Ofwat found it guilty of "unacceptable" sewage spills from storm overflows. The regulator found the firm failed to maintain adequate drainage, manage its sewer network effectively, and lacked basic systems to meet its legal duties. The £280,000 enforcement package must be funded by the company and its shareholders — not customers — and delivered by 2030.

Ofwat enforcement director Lynn Parker called the breaches "unacceptable," demanding the firm rebuild public trust in its service.

The penalty lands just as Hafren Dyfrdwy was permitted to raise customer bills by £54 — a 9% increase — to an average of £635 in 2026-27.

This is the ninth case in Ofwat's industry-wide sewage probe, which has now secured over £300 million in enforcement packages across the water sector.