The former chief executive of Southern Water, Matthew Wright, has been charged alongside three other former employees over an alleged scheme to manipulate water quality tests. The legal action follows accusations that the individuals conspired to defraud the Environment Agency (EA) and the water regulator Ofwat between 2012 and 2017, purportedly to avoid financial penalties estimated at approximately £45m.
The charges were brought after the Environment Agency asked a judge to issue a summons against the four men last year.
Alongside 60-year-old Matthew Wright of Haslemere, Surrey, the other individuals charged are Philip Barker, 57, of West Chiltington, West Sussex; Clive Massey, 64, of Brandhill, Shropshire; and Mark Gregory, 63, of Southampton. Prosecutors allege that the group orchestrated a plan to implement artificial "no-flow" events at wastewater treatment facilities.
By arranging for wastewater to be removed from facilities by tankers during testing periods, the accused allegedly sought to create "no flow" results. This was done, prosecutors claim, with a view to covering up pollution and deceiving those whose function is to protect the public from such harm.
A solicitor representing Wright stated that he "denies all wrongdoing and has co-operated fully" with the ongoing investigation by the Environment Agency. While the EA sought a summons against the four men last year, Wright initiated a legal challenge to block the move, arguing in the High Court in June that the EA lacked the power to issue the summons.
However, two senior judges dismissed his claim on Wednesday and ruled that legal restrictions previously preventing the reporting of the challenge should be lifted. Massey, Gregory, and Barker did not appear at the hearing in London and were not represented.
The case against the four men is scheduled to be heard at Medway Magistrates' Court on 14 July. District Judge Stephen Leake, who issued the initial summons, noted that the EA alleges there was a "deliberate plan by officers of the company to manipulate the OSM regime" by contriving operational circumstances so there was no flow when it was believed the site might fail the test, in order to avoid the consequences of the true results being provided to the agency and Ofwat.
Wastewater treatment works operate under environmental permits issued by the EA and are subject to an "operator self-monitoring" (OSM) scheme, which was introduced in 2009. Under this system, discharges are tested annually during unannounced visits by sampling teams that operate independently from the teams that run the works.
If there is insufficient discharge flow at the time of a test, it is not regarded as a failure, and no samples are taken for the rest of the testing period. Rules around OSM have been tightened in the past year, including a requirement that samples must be rescheduled in the event that the flow is insufficient.
In a separate development, court listings indicate that Southern Water itself has been charged with dozens of offences of failing to comply with or contravening an environmental permit condition between 2013 and 2017 at multiple wastewater treatment works. This follows a previous Ofwat investigation, which resulted in a customer rebate and penalties being imposed in 2019.
A spokesperson for Southern Water stated that as soon as the issues were identified, the company reported them to regulators, including the Environment Agency. The spokesperson emphasized that Southern Water is a completely different company now than it was a decade ago, noting that it is currently investing in its largest-ever programme to protect the environment.
The spokesperson added that the firm had apologized in full at the time of the previous investigation and repeated that apology today.
