South West Water boss Susan Davy to retire

The chief executive officer of South West Water (SWW) has announced her retirement.

Susan Davy, who is also on the board of Pennon Group which runs SWW, served as CEO for five years and has been chief financial officer since 2015.

"Running a water company is always interesting, often challenging, but totally fulfilling," she said. "I have enjoyed taking responsibility for the provision of a sustainable service to millions of homes."

A £24m enforcement package for SWW was proposed on Thursday after a three-year investigation into its failures in managing wastewater treatment works and sewer networks.

Ofwat said the company did not have adequate management systems to ensure it was meeting its legal obligations in this regard, including adequate oversight from its senior management team and board.

This meant SWW spilled wastewater into the environment when it should not have done.

It is also just over a year since an outbreak of cryptosporidium in the water supply in Brixham, south Devon, left some people in hospital while more than 100 others reported symptoms including diarrhoea.

In May Ms Davy said she apologised unreservedly, adding that she had suffered "sleepless nights" as communities in Brixham and Kingswear grappled with the outbreak at the time.

The departing boss received an £803,000 pay package for the latest financial year after receiving £191,000 in long-term bonuses.

South Devon MP Caroline Voaden, whose constituency includes Brixham, said: "Today's announcement closes a sorry tenure as CEO of South West Water where Ms Davy oversaw shocking levels of sewage spills, plummeting customer confidence, and a water contamination event that sent people to hospital."

She said the decision to step down "should have come a lot sooner."

Ms Voaden added: "The shocking report from Ofwat was clearly the straw that broke the camel's back, and for me, epitomised the negligent attitude SWW has shown to the environment and its customers in the past five years."

David Sproul, chairman of Pennon Group, said Ms Davy had navigated the group through some "challenging external headwinds to emerge stronger and more resilient".

He added: "Susan will continue to lead the group whilst we appoint her successor, ensuring a smooth and orderly succession."

A statement from Pennon Group added: "After more than 18 years with the group, and nearly 30 years in the water sector, Susan has decided the time is right for her to hand over to a new leader."

Ms Davy said it was a "natural juncture" to retire from the business after it had agreed a £3.2bn investment plan with regulator Ofwat in December last year.

Follow BBC Cornwall on X, Facebook and Instagram. Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].