Extra capacity eases the load for sewage shifters

An under-pressure water company has been praised for successfully increasing capacity to help sewage waste disposal companies with their loads.

Operators in Cornwall had been forced to drive hundreds of miles to transport septic tank waste out of the county for processing - sometimes as far as Bristol and south Wales.

The lack of capacity and environmental compliance issues had left customers kicking up a stink as they waited for months for their brimful septic tanks to be emptied.

Now managers at South West Water have said they have made some improvements to their infrastructure to allow year-round waste disposal and they were confident the system would be "more resilient" in the future.

South West Water (SWW) has faced a series of problems and prosecutions in 2026.

Earlier this month, the water company was ordered to pay £1.93m in fines and costs after the supply to Brixham, Devon, was contaminated with the parasite cryptosporidium in 2024.

In March, SWW admitted 18 pollution offences across Devon and Cornwall after years of illegal sewage spills which affected rivers, beaches and protected wildlife habitats.

The January storms left households around Helston with no water, while, in nearby Stithians, raw sewage was running through the streets.

The septic tank issue had not been so high-profile, but the repeated closure of some waste water treatment works in Cornwall to commercial waste tankers in 2023, 2024 and 2025 has caused a great deal of frustration.

The SWW head of environmental performance Helen Dobby said they hoped they had solved the issue now, explaining: "We have increased capacity at our Hayle treatment plant by 50,000 cubic litres. That was done by refurbishing an additional tank.

"We've also worked with the regulators to increase capacity in busier periods so we're pleased with the outcome.

"We're confident with this extra capacity the system will be more resilient, with more waste in the summer months when tourists come to Cornwall, and it can also cope if we have winter of persistent heavy rain."

After years of complaining, leaders of the commercial tankered waste industry have welcomed the recent SWW efforts.

Linda Martin is a director at Pellows which process around 16 million gallons (75 million litres) of septic tank waste every year.

She said: "It's been a historic problem but it was particularly bad this winter with the consistent rain.

"Having to transport the waste as far away as Bristol and South Wales wasn't just bad for our bottom line, it was also bad for our carbon footprint with all those diesel lorries going out of the county.

"This is a really positive move. Eventually everyone got together to thrash things out and we have a solution to what was a really bad situation."

Jayne Kirkham, the Labour MP for Truro and Falmouth, said: "The severe weather Cornwall experienced exposed real weaknesses in our system, and we must build resilience, even in the less glamorous areas like waste infrastructure, so Cornwall is better prepared for the future."

The Minister for Water and Flooding Emma Hardy MP added: "We were able to move the situation on through effective joint working and government support to solve a rising crisis for Cornwall and the wider region."

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: "It is vital that septic tank waste is disposed of correctly in order to protect human health and the environment.

"We are pleased South West Water has increased their capacity across several sites.

"We are working with South West Water, Pellows and other operators to help them improve the disposal of septic waste in Cornwall."

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