WELSH Water will pay out £44.7 million after failures in its sewage network and oversight led to a series of spills, regulator Ofwat announced today.

The water watchdog said that the firm must now focus on “putting things right” after accepting the supplier’s redress package.

Ofwat senior director for enforcement Lynn Parker said: “Our investigation found serious and unacceptable breaches in how Dwr Cymru Welsh Water has operated its wastewater assets, which have resulted in excessive spills to the environment.

“With this investigation now concluded, we expect the company to focus on putting things right so that customers can regain trust in their water company.”

The enforcement package will include £40.6m to reduce spills at specific overflows and reduce the environmental damage caused, tackle groundwater entering the sewer network, as well as an extra £4.1m to improve river quality in “extremely sensitive catchments.”

Ofwat said that it was more than the £40m that would otherwise have been imposed as a fine and stressed it would be funded by the company and not added to customer bills.

But it comes amid more painful bill hikes for Welsh Water customers, who saw their bills increase by another 4.8 per cent in April for 2026-27, taking the average annual total from £652 to £683.

The package, which was accepted following consultation after first being proposed in March, marks the latest enforcement action against a water supplier as the sector comes under heavy fire for supply failures and environmental performance failures.

Welsh Water said that it recognises “that improvements are needed.”

“While we know there is much more to do and that it will take time to get to the level of performance our customers and regulators rightly expect, we are beginning to see early signs of progress in some key areas of performance,” a company statement said.

South West Water was handed a record fine of almost £2m at Exeter Magistrates’ Court earlier this week for supplying water unfit for human consumption after a parasitic outbreak in Devon.

Ofwat launched an investigation into troubled South East Water in January after supply problems left tens of thousands without water, and is expected to complete its probe by the end of the year.