Date: May 2026
Falmouth Town Council has voted to declare no confidence in South West Water, following a debate about sewage pollution, rising bills and years of underinvestment in the town’s water infrastructure.
The motion, proposed by councillor Dean Evans, commits the council to writing to the Secretary of State for the Environment and the chief executive of Ofwat, demanding action. Evans cited figures from Surfers Against Sewage showing South West Water was responsible for 46,191 hours of sewage spills in 2025, including illegal discharges during dry weather. He argued that private water companies had been “allowed to profit at the public’s expense” while infrastructure was left to “crumble into disrepair.”
Those who opposed the motion didn’t dispute the problem, but questioned whether it was a town council’s place to weigh in on national water policy. One councillor argued that £22 million of planned investment in Falmouth showed the system was working. Another councillor’s response cuts closer to the truth: “If this investment is needed now, then it was needed before.”
The council’s support for the motion came with a recognition that recent investment had followed years of pressure, not years of good management.
What this means for Southern Water customers
Falmouth is on the other side of the country and South West Water is a different company. But the story is the same – sewage spills, rising bills, planned investment that arrives only after sustained public pressure, and local people deciding they’ve had enough of waiting for someone else to act.
A town council declaring no confidence in a water company and writing to the Secretary of State is exactly the kind of pressure that moves things. Brighton and Hove City Council could do the same. If you think they should, write to your local councillor and tell them so – and write to your MP at writetothem.com.
Read the full story on the Falmouth Packet.
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