Former Southern Water chief charged over alleged water test manipulation

Matthew Wright, the former chief executive of British water company Southern Water, has been charged with conspiring to manipulate water quality tests, the government said Wednesday.

The Environment Agency brought the case against Wright and announced the charge after he and three other men lost a High Court bid to block the charges from being made public. The agency said the case concerns alleged efforts to manipulate compulsory water quality tests over five years.

Wright and the three others are accused of conspiracy to defraud the Environment Agency and water regulator Ofwat. The charges relate to incidents between 2012 and 2017. The government said Wright faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Southern Water provides water and sewage services to millions of people across southern England. The company has faced criticism over pollution. British water firms have drawn public anger for years over large sewage discharges into rivers and the sea.

The government has started changing the water regulation system in response, including by tightening sanctions against executives in the sector.

In a written High Court ruling, Judge Andrew Popplewell said the allegations involved "carefully planned and extensive fraud and dishonesty at a high level". He said Wright faced very serious allegations of criminal misconduct.

The Environment Agency says it is an offence for a water company to deliberately alter wastewater flows when a team arrives to take samples for quality testing. According to the judgement, the agency alleges that former company employees deliberately ensured there was no flow when they believed a site might fail a test.

Southern Water faces separate charges of breaching environmental permits over the same allegations.

In November, Southern Water apologised after large numbers of plastic pellets washed up on beaches in southern England. The company said at the time that it was highly likely to have been behind that pollution incident.