Severn Trent Fined £2m Over 'Water Leak Lies'

Severn Trent Water has today been fined £2 million at the Old Bailey, for lying about leakages in its water system.

The second largest water company in Britain - and the first to be prosecuted for making false statements about its leaks - pleaded guilty to two offences related to leakage data supplied to Ofwat in 2001 and 2002.

Severn Trent had reported an estimated yearly water loss of 340 million litres per day to meet targets.

However, the true figure was around 514 million litres. The firm pleaded guilty to two offences under the Water Industry Act, of making false returns to Ofwat.

A separate investigation in April this year found the company had deliberately provided false information and poor customer service, for which it faces a £35.8 million fine.

The company said it "deeply regretted" the mistakes made and offered their apologies to their customers, for the behaviour Ofwat deemed "unacceptable".

The board also said it would not be taking legal action against the former management, who are no longer within the organisation.

"We deeply regret the mistakes of the previous regime for which we have apologised to customers," Tony Wray, Chief Executive of Severn Trent Plc, said. "There were indefensible shortcomings in Severn Trent’s previous management and control systems during the 2000 to 2004 era.

"On behalf of our customers and staff we deplore the breach of the essential trust between Severn Trent and all our stakeholders."

Mr Wray also stressed that the company did not profit from the "failures" and that customers accounts and bills were altered "appropriately".

Severn Trent provides water for more than eight million customers from the Bristol Channel to the Humber, and from mid-Wales to the East Midlands.

(JM)