South West Water: Boss of UK water firm to get 'scandalous' £30k pay rise despite Devon parasite outbreak

The boss of South West Water has received a £300,000 pay rise just days after the parasite outbreak in Devon which left locals ill with severe dehydration and without drinking water for more than two weeks. Susan Davy, chief executive of Pennon group which owns the water company, saw her pay packet soar to £860,000 in 2023-24 from £543,000 the previous year.

Her pay has jumped by 58% which was down to a hefty long-term performance award and must be held for two years and reinvested in Pennon stock. The annual report showed that Ms Davy saw her base annual salary rise to £492,000 in April last year from £475,000 in 2022-23 and it was hiked again by 4 per cent to £511,290 in April this year.

Ms Davy turned down a £237,000 annual bonus but had accepted the lucrative performance bonus. Gary Carter, national officer of the GMB trade union, said Pennon’s “scandalous behaviour has to end”. He added: “It’s time Ofwat stopped water companies paying big bonuses and paying out huge dividends for such poor performances.”

It comes after around 17,000 households in the Brixham area of Devon were told last month by the firm to boil their drinking water after a parasite outbreak in their supply. The group is paying out around £3.5 million in compensation to affected customers.

In its annual report, South West Water admitted that it has “more to do” to tackle sewage spills, adding “we continue to target a further step change in performance”. A spokesman for Pennon said: “We understand the strength of feeling from our customers and the public around the issues facing the water sector. For the second year running, our chief executive, alongside other members of our executive leadership team, have therefore made the personal decision to decline annual bonus for the previous financial year.”