Wild swimmer Jo Bateman’s claim against South West Water strengthened by Supreme Court ruling in Manchester Ship Canal sewage case

Earlier this year Jo issued a claim against the water company for loss of amenity after she was unable to swim at Exmouth Beach for 10 consecutive days in December 2023 after a spill linked to a burst water main led to untreated sewage discharging into the sea.

Six months later, in July 2024, the Supreme Court issued a ruling in the Manchester Ship Canal Company Ltd v United Utilities Water Ltd (No 2) which significantly expanded the basis on which Jo is able to bring her legal action.

At the conclusion of a long-running legal case about discharges of untreated sewage into the Manchester Ship Canal, the Supreme Court ruled that private citizens are not prevented by the Water Industries Act 1991 from bringing a claim for nuisance or trespass over pollution caused by sewage discharges, even if there has been no negligence or deliberate misconduct. 

Jo’s environment legal team at law firm Leigh Day then secured an agreement from the Small Claims Court and South West Water that Jo could change her legal claim to reflect the ruling by the Supreme Court.

The legal claim now states:

“In addition to her original claim regarding the December 2023 incident, Jo has sustained further loss of amenity due to public nuisance caused by South West Water’s repeated discharges of untreated sewage since August 2020, leading to the pollution of Exmouth beach and impacting Jo’s ability to swim for over 300 days. “

This has meant that since the Manchester Ship Canal ruling, Jo is claiming for at least 300 days of lost swimming over a five year period rather than only the 10 days she originally claimed for. The amended claim was filed and served on South West Water on 13 September 2024. 

South West Water is now due to file an updated Defence in response to the claim on 22 November 2024.

If the claim goes to trial, it is likely to be the first time a court will be asked to apply the Supreme Court decision in Manchester Ship Canal and it will be the first case where a wild swimmer has taken legal action against a sewage company.

Jo Bateman said:

"It has been brilliant to see the Supreme Court acknowledge the gravity of sewage discharges, allowing us to confidently plead my claim against South West Water. The right to swim in waters without sewage should be a given. I look forward to South West Water’s response this November.”

Leigh Day partner Oliver Holland said:

“This decision could not have come soon enough, reaffirming the rights of private citizens, like Jo, affected by sewage pollution and setting out the wider role of the courts in protecting the UK's environment at a time when many of the UK's oceans and waterways are in crisis.”

Good Law Project legal assistant Tamara Walters said:

“The tide is clearly behind Jo Bateman in her fight against South West Water and its industrial scale pollution of Exmouth beach. Good Law Project is honoured to be supporting her.

“We’re proud to have played a part in securing the landmark Supreme Court ruling that has enabled Jo to put the true impact of their polluting behaviour before the courts, and paving the way for other legal challenges against water companies.”

Jo’s legal claim against South West Water has prompted the Exmouth community to follow suit with its own action against South West Water to compensate for the alleged impact of repeated discharges of sewage into the River Exe and Sea. 

The impact of these discharges is acknowledged by both the Environment Agency and South West Water, with the Environment Agency having issued numerous ‘do not swim’ warnings in recent years and South West Water regularly stating on its website that discharges may affect the condition of the bathing water.

Read more about the Supreme Court decision here.