Water boss admits firm must 'rebuild trust' as it roars back into profit after parasitic outbreak in Devon
The new boss of South West Water owner Pennon admitted the group must ‘rebuild trust’ after a record near-£2million fine following a parasitic outbreak in its supply in Devon.Keith Haslett, who became chief executive in April, said Pennon ‘must learn lessons from this incident’ after supplying water unfit for human consumption that left locals hospitalised.The comments came as Pennon – which also owns SES Water, Bristol Water and Bournemouth Water – swung back into the black after another painful rise in household bills.It reported profits of £114.4million for the 12 months to the end of March having made losses of £72.7million the previous year. Revenues surged 23 per cent to £1.29billion.The company was fined a record £1.85million after the water supply in the Brixham area of Devon was contaminated in 2024 by cryptosporidium, a parasite which causes sickness and diarrhoea. South West Water hands out emergency rations of bottled water during the cryptosporidium outbreak in Devon in 2024Haslett said he was ‘deeply saddened by the impact our business had on customers in the Brixham area during the 2024 cryptosporidium incident’.‘Whilst I have only been chief executive for a few weeks, it is very clear that we must learn lessons from this incident and work hard to rebuild trust with the customer and communities we serve, both in Brixham and beyond,’ he said.The outbreak left a number of locals in hospital and many relying on emergency rations of clean bottled water. The group is now facing the possibility of further legal action as Devon council looks at whether it has a case against South West Water over its environmental performance and water quality as local communities remain concerned.The council’s leader councillor Julian Brazil said he believed executives should face surcharges for poor performance on supply, water and environmental performance.Haslett said the group could not comment on Devon council’s plans but said the group ‘fully respects the outcome of the legal process’.In his new role leading the group, he said he was focused on improving the group’s performance for customers.Haslett said: ‘Water quality is paramount and we absolutely should be focused on (supplying) wholesome drinking water every day, 24/7 for our customers.’He said he wants the group to be leading the sector in all areas of performance but admitted ‘we clearly have a lot of work to do’.Haslett – an industry veteran who was previously boss of Affinity Water and held executive roles at Northumbrian Water and United Utilities – replaced former chief executive Susan Davy when she retired after 18 years with Pennon.AJ BellAJ BellEasy investing and ready-made portfoliosHargreaves LansdownHargreaves LansdownFree fund dealing and investment ideasinteractive investorinteractive investorFlat-fee investing from £4.99 per monthFreetradeFreetradeInvesting Isa now free on basic planTrading 212Trading 212Free share dealing and no account feeAffiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.Compare the best investing account for you
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Water boss admits firm must 'rebuild trust' as it roars back into profit after parasitic outbreak in Devon
