Ex-Southern Water Boss Charged with Conspiracy to Defraud Over Water Test Manipulation

Matthew Wright, the former chief executive of Southern Water, has been charged with conspiracy to defraud authorities. Wright, along with three other individuals, Philip Barker, Clive Massey, and Mark Gregory, is accused of a plan to manipulate water quality tests. The alleged scheme aimed to avoid millions of pounds in penalties from the Environment Agency (EA) and water regulator Ofwat. Wright had previously launched a legal challenge to dismiss the summons issued against him, arguing the EA lacked the authority. However, two senior judges dismissed his claim, lifting restrictions on reporting the case. The four defendants are accused of conspiring between 2012 and 2017 to defraud public bodies responsible for environmental and financial regulation of Southern Water. The method allegedly involved implementing "artificial no-flow events" at wastewater treatment works. Southern Water itself faces separate charges for numerous offenses related to failing to comply with environmental permit conditions between 2013 and 2017 at various treatment sites. These permits are crucial for operating wastewater treatment works, and compliance is monitored through an "operator self-monitoring" (OSM) scheme. The scheme involves annual, unannounced sampling. If flow is insufficient during a test, it is not considered a fail, and no samples are taken. The article notes that rules around OSM have been tightened, with the current government pledging to end the practice of not rescheduling tests due to insufficient flow.

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The agency alleges, in the present case, that there was a deliberate plan by officers of the company to manipulate the OSM regime by contriving operational circumstances so that there was no flow through the relevant site at times when it was believed that the site would, or might, fail the OSM test, in order to avoid the