Anglian Water has been fined over £500,000 for failing to stop raw sewage being discharged into a river for almost a full day, which resulted in the deaths of 5,000 fish.
The Environment Agency said today (Tuesday, January 17) that around six million litres of raw sewage, equivalent of more than two Olympic swimming pools, was discharged in the Great River Ouse at Brackley, Northamptonshire.
The agency said the sewage, which spread 12km down the river, killed thousands of fish.
Anglian Water pleaded guilty to a breach of permit and it was ordered to pay a fine of £510,000, costs of £50,000 and a victim surcharge of £170 at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (January 12).
The discharge, from the emergency overflow at the pumping station, started just before 6:00p.m on May 24, in 2017. It was not stopped until around 5:00p.m the next day, 23 hours later.
Electrical faults caused the pumps to stop. Then a failure of the early warning alarm system, put in place to alert Anglian Water staff of an issue, meant the discharge went unnoticed.
Environment manager at the Environment Agency, Andrew Raine, said: “The environmental impact of this pollution was substantial, resulting in a large-scale fish kill and affecting 12km of the upper River Great Ouse.
“Polluters should always be held to account, as much as our resources allow, we will always investigate significant pollution incidents and bring those responsible before the courts.
“We are grateful that the level of fine acknowledges the damage to the river ecosystems that this sewage spill from Anglian Water has caused.”
Fines
Yesterday (Monday, January 16), another company was fined for discharge, however in this case it was for the discharge of hazardous waste into a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Devon.
International Paint Ltd. was fined £650,000 and ordered to pay costs of £144,992 after it was found guilty on two charges brought by the Environment Agency.
It had denied both offences relating to the discharge of hazardous waste from a tank located on the quay at its Newton Ferrers paint-testing facility.
