<ul data-eligibleForWebStory="false"><li>South West Water will pay a £24m penalty for illegal sewage discharges into the environment instead of being fined £19m by Ofwat, the regulator for the water and wastewater sector in England and Wales.</li><li>The penalty is due to the company's breach of legal permit conditions, with the company planning to invest £20m in reducing sewage discharges at storm overflows, £2m in tackling sewer misuse, and an additional £2m to support local environment groups as part of the agreement with Ofwat.</li><li>Surfers Against Sewage expressed discontent, labeling the water industry model as broken and criticizing the regulator for allowing water companies to select their penalties.</li><li>Ofwat chose to accept the investment proposal by South West Water instead of imposing a fine as it believes the company will carry out the required work to rectify its infrastructure issues; the public and stakeholders can provide input on the penalty size before Ofwat's final decision.</li></ul>

South West Water allowed to invest £24m rather than pay £19m fine

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