Boss of water firm that poisoned customers with parasite-infected tap water earned £5.5million while in charge

Published: 16:46, 10 June 2026 | Updated: 16:47, 10 June 2026 The fatcat boss of a water firm that poisoned more than 500 customers with parasite-infected tap water pocketed more than £5.5 million over five disastrous years in charge before quitting in disgrace as the company faced criminal prosecution, the Daily Mail can reveal. Susan Davy, 56, was chief executive when South West Water's failure to inspect a reservoir valve for 13 years allowed cryptosporidium from animal faeces to infect the tap water of more than 16,000 homes in Brixham, Devon, in May 2024. She walked off with £803,000 in salary and benefits in her final year despite a judge finding the company had committed a 'systemic failure of governance' and fining it a record £1.93 million this month. During her tenure the company also racked up a £24 million Ofwat penalty for illegally pumping sewage into rivers and coastal waters and imposed bill rises of up to 28 per cent on customers. Rafferty Watts, now ten, was left with permanent bowel damage and a severe eating disorder after drinking from his kitchen tap during the outbreak. His mother Jennifer, 52, said the ordeal had 'devastated our lives for the last two years', with Rafferty struggling to eat solid food and refusing to leave the house. 'It was utterly horrific. His illness was devastating and has been incredibly traumatic for both of us - he's not the same happy child that he was before,' she said. 'The first time we went into hospital, the crypto situation hadn't broken on the news, so the hospital wasn't aware and I wasn't aware. But in the taxi on the way home it started breaking on social media and at that point I started to realise what it was.' Susan Davy, 56, was chief executive when South West Water's failure to inspect a reservoir valve for 13 years allowed cryptosporidium from animal faeces to infect the tap water of more than 16,000 homes Rafferty Watts, now ten, was left with permanent bowel damage and a severe eating disorder after drinking from his kitchen tap during the outbreak She added: 'For months after he was infected, he wouldn't touch taps or tap water - he had to bathe in bottled water. He would only consume meal replacement drinks, surviving on those three times a day.' 'She was chief executive at the time, the buck stops with her,' Ms Watts said. 'She jumped before the trial because she knew what was going to happen.' Ms Watts, who has spent £750 installing filter taps after Rafferty refused to drink from the mains, added: 'I think the reaction to the outbreak in the beginning was abysmal - the misinformation and miscommunication, and their denial of there being a problem in the first place, was utterly unforgivable.' She said the record fine had failed to reflect the severity and long-lasting impact on vulnerable people. 'While the fine is significant I don't believe it goes far enough. I think there should also be custodial sentences.' Exeter Magistrates' Court heard this month that the company had a policy requiring reservoir valves to be inspected but had never implemented it - and that South West Water had 137 previous criminal offences on its record. Cryptosporidium from animal faeces is believed to have entered the supply after cattle were moved into the field containing the damaged valve in April 2024, its protective cover having been removed by an unidentified third party and never reported to the company. Boil notices were issued to 16,221 properties on 15 May 2024 and were not fully lifted for 54 days, disrupting schools, care homes and businesses during the tourist season. Jatinder Paul, public health lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, which represents a group of victims in a civil claim in which South West Water has admitted liability, said: 'Cryptosporidium is a serious waterborne infection and its effects should not be downplayed. It can have devastating and long-lasting consequences for the most vulnerable in society such as the elderly and children. Jennifer, 52, said the ordeal had 'devastated our lives for the last two years', with Rafferty struggling to eat solid food and refusing to leave the house 'It's been two years since the outbreak and many of those we represent continue to be greatly affected. Some have developed conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, while others have been hospitalised and continue to suffer psychological impact.' Caroline Voaden, Liberal Democrat MP for South Devon, said: 'Words like incompetent and reckless are so often used to describe our broken water industry that they have almost lost their meaning. But the truth is South West Water failed at their most basic duty, and no amount of money will ever fully regain the customer trust they squandered.' David Harris, managing director of water services for South West Water, said: 'We apologise again to our customers who were impacted and have always taken full responsibility for the water that was supplied. We will continue to work every day to rebuild trust with the communities impacted by this extremely rare event.' Pennon, South West Water's owner, said the total bill for the outbreak reached nearly £40 million - more than 20 times the fine imposed by the court. David Harris, Managing Director Water Services, South West Water: 'We have co-operated fully with the Drinking Water Inspectorate throughout its investigations and through the end of the legal process today. 'We apologise again to our customers who were impacted and have always taken full responsibility for the water that was supplied. 'Hundreds of our skilled colleagues worked tirelessly to fix the issues faced during the incident. We will continue to work every day to rebuild trust and our relationships with the communities who were impacted by this extremely rare event in 2024. That started during the incident itself where the prosecution acknowledged today in court that South West Water went above and beyond with respect to the provision of bottled water and more generally made no criticism of our incident response. 'We have also developed smart air valves - an industry leading step up - and changed our processes to ensure earlier precautionary boil water notices can be issued where necessary.' Keith Haslett, Chief Executive Officer, Pennon Group added: 'While I have only been CEO of this business for a few weeks, it is very clear that we must learn lessons from this incident and work hard to continue to rebuild trust with the customers and communities we serve, both in Brixham and beyond. I am already focussed on driving improvement in the way we operate, how we communicate and support our customers during operational incidents, and driving a step change in our performance for our customers and the environment.' No comments have so far been submitted. 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