THE UK Minister responsible for water has described South West Water as a “failing company” in Parliament, in response to a question from the MP for St Austell and Newquay.

Noah Law spoke out after new data, obtained by The Times and sourced by the Environment Agency, revealed that South West Water caused 2,323 dry day sewage spills between January 1 and June 30 this year, which are often illegal.

Fellow Cornish Labour MP Perran Moon, said: “One of the first things this Labour Government prioritised was that water companies must implement improvements to stop the sewage spillages. I have been very clear with South West Water that they must clean up their act, invest in infrastructure and pay compensation where it is due. We will continue to press them to ensure that the service that customers expect is delivered and so our rivers and beaches can be enjoyed.”

Anna Gelderd MP for South East Cornwall who also sits on the Environmental Audit Committee, had also grilled CEO, Susan Davy on the company’s track record on water quality.

During Westminster Parliamentary Questions on Thursday, Mr Law told Emma Hardy, Secretary of State for Water and Flooding, that while he welcomed that rolling reporting of dry day spills has become mandatory, “unfortunately it has lain bare the track record of South West Water which is among the worst offenders in terms of dry day spills.”

He then asked what steps the minister is taking to ensure that companies like South West Water feel the full force of the law in regard to dry day spills.

In response, the Rt Hon Hardy said: “My honourable friend is absolutely right to be angry about the state in which our rivers, lakes and seas have been left, and I recognise the trouble that a failing water company causes for his constituency.

“This is why we have committed to resetting, reforming and revolutionising the water sector. This why we are establishing a new single, powerful regulator that can fully hold all companies to account, ensure that all companies are delivering for the British people and cleaning up our waterways for good.”

Mr Law has been working to hold South West Water to account ever since he was elected.

He said: “Outdated infrastructure often lies at the heart of these issues, and I have been working closely with South West Water to try to bring forward improvements to combined sewer overflows. I recognise the urgency and upset around this issue, and am pressing to get robust commitments on start dates for infrastructure upgrades and the prioritisation of key sites.”

Jayne Kirkham, MP for Truro and Falmouth commented: “Due to solid campaigning and pressure from Falmouth, work will start on fixing the sewage overflows in the town this October. However, the programme to fix the issue in Cornwall needs to speed up. We cannot go on with this level of spills.

“The Government, earlier this year, introduced the Water (Special Measures) Act, which will give regulators new powers to punish water company executives, including prosecutions and potential multimillion-pound fines.

“Alongside this, DEFRA is carrying out root and branch reform to revolutionise the water industry through a record £104 billion investment and repair damage caused over the last 14 years. Putting a stop to illegal dry day spills must be part of these efforts”.

Raw sewage is legally permitted to pour into waterways from relief outfalls, known as storm overflows, on days of heavy rainfall. Dry day spills, however, remain unlawful and Mr Law and the other Cornish MPs are pressuring South West Water to improve infrastructure ahead of its publicised schedule to significantly reduce these incidents.

However, this is not meant to happen on dry days, when the risk to swimmers and wildlife is greater because the pollution remains undiluted by rainwater. A dry day is defined by the Environment Agency as having no rainfall above 0.25mm on the day and the 24 hours beforehand.

Figures are only coming to light because since January the Environment Agency (EA) has been required to report monthly dry day spills, which it now classifies as pollution incidents.

Members of the public who are concerned about a potential water quality of pollution issue should report details via the Environment Agency’s Incident Communication Service hotline number - 0800 807060.