Pennon Group PLC (LSE:PNN, OTC:PEGRY) said releases of untreated sewage from South West Water were down 30% last year, as a critical spotlight was thrown on water companies by hard-hitting BBC documentaries about river pollution presented by Paul Whitehouse.
The FTSE 100-listed company said it completed the acquisition of Bristol Water last month, with the combined water business now operating under one licence.
Following the first showing of ‘Our Troubled Rivers’ documentary last Sunday, with a second part coming this weekend with a focus on the south of England, potentially including Pennon’s south-west operations, the company made a noticeable focus on its self-improvement measures in a year-end trading statement on Tuesday.
It said it is reinvesting to “increase water resilience and enhance the environment”, with roughly a 40% increase in capital expenditure in the year to the end of March 2023.
There had been around a 30% reduction in pollution incidents in 2022 and a 30% reduction in releases from storm overflows, with full monitoring of storm overflows now complete a year ahead of plan. Storm overflows are where water companies discharge untreated sewage direct into waterways in times of high rainfall, though there are concerns that many companies are taking unnecessary advantage of this clause.
South West Water has been branded among the worst polluters in the country, with regulator Ofwat launching an enforcement case last year over sewage spills into rivers and the sea.
The company highlighted that, along with other water companies it has hiked prices below inflation – though this will still be the industry’s largest bill increase in close to two decades https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/1005095/water-companies-hike-prices-by-less-than-inflation-1005095.html.