Water chief behind Devon contamination scandal gives up £237,000 bonus

The boss of South West Water has given up her bonus for the second year running after contaminated water led to a string of customers falling ill in Devon.

Susan Davy, chief executive of parent company Pennon Group, would have been slated to receive £237,000 for 2023/24 under the supplier’s pay regime.

However, Pennon said directors had decided to cancel all executive bonuses “in recognition of the current external environment”.

The supplier was forced to issue a warning to some 17,000 households on May 15 because of the presence of a parasite that can cause diarrhoea.

Residents in Brixham, Devon, are still being told to boil their tap water after the discovery of an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis, which has left hundreds of people ill.

South West Water has said the contamination was likely caused by animal faeces that entered a damaged pipe.

A spokesman said the decision to forgo bonuses was taken before the parasitic outbreak.

It is the second year in a row that Ms Davy has given up her bonus. The chief executive gave up the payout last year amid public anger at sewage pollution in rivers and the sea.

Pennon Group’s annual report,bo published today, said the decision to cancel her bonus was taken by the remuneration committee after a recommendation from management.

The company added that the committee had debated the level of payout carefully and “at length”.

Ms Davy received £860,000 in pay for 2023/24 overall, including her £492,000 salary, £21,000 in benefits, £49,000 in pension contributions and £298,000 of long-term performance-linked shares.

Steve Buck, Pennon’s new finance chief, received £186,000, having joined in November.

Both executives are to receive a pay rise of 4pc this year, taking Ms Davy and Mr Buck to annual salaries of £511,290 and £488,800 respectively in the current financial year.

A warning on South West Water’s website still warns customers in parts of the Brixham area to “boil water before use”.

The warning adds: “We apologise for the continued impact the boil notice is having on customers in the Hillhead, upper parts of Brixham and Kingswear areas.

“We’re increasing the standard compensation for customers as it’s the right thing to do.

“We’re delivering bottled water to all customers under the boil water notice until the boil water notice is lifted.”

Pennon saw its annual losses widen from £8.5m to £9.1m in the year to March 31, according to the annual report. That was despite revenues rising from £797m to £908m.

On Monday, a spokesman for Pennon said: “We understand the strength of feeling from our customers and the public around the issues facing the water sector.

“For the second year running, our chief executive, alongside other members of our executive leadership team, have therefore made the personal decision to decline annual bonus for the previous financial year.”