The company that supplies water to several parts of Powys and Mid Wales, have been named as part of major investigation into sewage treatment works.

Hafren Dyfrdwy, water suppliers for Welshpool, Newtown, Llanfyllin and Llanidloes as well as other areas throughout Powys, have been named as one of eleven water companies currently under investigation by the Water Services Regulation Authority, Ofwat, as were fellow Mid Wales water supplier Dwr Cymru. 

All eleven water firms in England and Wales are under scrutiny by Ofwat as part of what’s been described as the “largest and most complex investigation Ofwat has undertaken” into whether their sewage treatment works are polluting the environment.

On July 16 Ofwat announced that had served formal enforcement notices on Dwr Cymru Welsh Water, Hafren Dyfrdwy, Severn Trent and United Utilities, the four remaining companies included in the investigation.

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David Black, Ofwat’s chief executive, said: “The fact that Ofwat now has enforcement cases with all eleven of the wastewater companies in England and Wales demonstrates how concerned we are about the sector’s environmental performance.

“This is the largest and most complex investigation Ofwat has undertaken.”

The major investigation was first opened in November 2021, but an enforcement notice means the authority has gathered evidence and found the firms may have breached their obligations to protect the environment.

Ofwat could potentially level fines against the companies included in the investigation, with the authority previously handing out fines of more than £300 million to companies it found to have breached their legal obligations.

This move in the investigation comes after new Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the Government will need to “get to grips with” sewage and pollution, while Environment Secretary Steve Reed proposed new measures to reform the sector and “fix our broken sewage system”.

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A spokeswoman for the Government’s Environment Department said: “We will never look the other way while water companies pump sewage into our waterways. That is why we welcome the enforcement action announced today.

“The new Government will go even further to clean up Britain’s rivers, lakes and seas.”

A Hafren Dyfrdwy spokesperson said: ‘We are absolutely committed to delivering an ambitious environmental plan which will ensure that we will not be the reason for any unhealthy rivers in Wales by 2030 – this includes rapidly reducing spills from storm overflows. We’ll work constructively with Ofwat and are confident in reaching a resolution as quickly as possible.”

A spokesperson for Dwr Cymru said: “The environment is at the heart of everything we do. Only last week Ofwat outlined its initial assessment of our business plan for 2025-2030 which could see over £2.8bn expenditure on services to improve our wastewater performance.

"We will not shy away from the challenges facing us and to comply fully with Ofwat’s investigation and be open and transparent with the information we share with them.

"We have been working closely with our regulators on the monitoring of our wastewater treatment works and are investing at record levels to improve service. We will continue to work with all our regulators to ensure environmental performance improves.”