Company admits supplying water unfit for humans after parasitic outbreak

A company has admitted it supplied water that was unfit for human consumption after a parasitic outbreak in Devon.

During a hearing at Exeter Magistrates' Court, South West Water Ltd pleaded guilty to an offence under s70(1) of the Water Industry Act 1991 to supplying water unfit for human consumption. Some people were treated in hospital and hundreds of others were also ill during the outbreak in Brixham in May 2024, after the water supply was contaminated by cryptosporidium, a parasite that causes sickness and diarrhoea.

A "boil water" notice was issued to around 17,000 households and businesses in the area, warning people not to use tap water for drinking without boiling it and cooling it first. For some households, the notice remained in place for eight weeks.

The water firm was prosecuted by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) and faces a fine when it is sentenced at the same court on 2 June. Howard Leithead, representing the DWI, had asked for the case to be sent to the crown court for sentencing, arguing it is "high-profile or exceptionally sensitive.