£300,000 Sewage Pollution Fine For Anglian Water

Utility company Anglian Water has been fined £300,000 for a pollution incident that took place in November 2018, where untreated sewage was illegally discharged into Spring Dyke, a waterway that feeds into the Norfolk Broads Special Area of Conservation.

Samples of the water were taken by the Environment Agency after the incident, detecting high levels of ammonia. As a result, thousands of fish were killed and had to be removed from the water, with many more noticeably in distress, so much so that aerators had to be installed to prevent any further impact. It took 11 days for the water quality to recover.

The incident was caused by a blockage of unflushable items at the pumping station in Ormesby St Margaret. It was heard that the water company was aware of the issues at the site, with ten sewage discharges taking place since 2003 – despite the fact that the pumping station doesn’t have an emergency overflow permit.

Sentencing the firm at Basildon Magistrates Court on December 5th this year, District Judge Willams said that the impact on wildlife had been deadly, adding: “There was some impact on local residents and there was also a risk that this could have entered the public water supply.”

Commenting on the case, Graham Verrier – Environment Agency area director for East Anglia – said: “We take our responsibility to protect the environment very seriously.

“Where significant pollution incidents occur, the Environment Agency investigates and takes action to stop the pollution as quickly as possible and then to take enforcement action where necessary.”

How is water pollution being tackled?

Water pollution and water quality are significant issues now facing much of the UK, with UN figures showing that 100 per cent of England’s rivers failed to achieve good chemical status in 2020., driven by sewage, agricultural waste and plastic – all of which is putting ecosystems and aquatic life at risk, reducing biodiversity and affecting water quality.

However, it seems that work is now being done to address these concerns, with the new Labour government unveiling its water (special measures) bill in September. This legislation aims to crack down on those water companies found to be polluting waterways around the country, while giving regulators stronger powers to take tougher action more quickly.

Stronger penalties will be implemented, including jail time, for bosses whose companies fail to cooperate or obstruct investigations. Bonus payments to chief executives and senior leadership personnel will also be banned unless high standards of environmental and consumer protection are met.

Furthermore, more intense monitoring of emergency sewage overflows will be brought in so that regulators can investigate and penalise wrongdoing more efficiently.

How can businesses help?

There are many ways in which businesses can help reduce water pollution and it is certainly advisable to consider your industry and company operations to identify the best ways in which you can make a significant impact.

For example, if you work in the farming sector, you may want to identify measures for reducing agricultural runoff, which can make its way into rivers, lakes and streams, increasing nutrient density and putting biodiversity at risk.

However, you can also make inroads through awareness campaigns at work, ensuring that people know what they can and can’t send down the drain.

This Anglian Water incident was caused by unflushable items making their way into the sewer network, so perhaps consider sending out emails, posting flyers around your site and have some training days set aside so that your members of staff gain a deeper understanding of their personal responsibilities when it comes to water quality.

Of course, it can be difficult to know where to begin and, as such, it can be useful to have a water audit of your site carried out so you know how and where you’re using water.

Once you know more about your water usage and consumption, you can take steps to drive improvements across the board, helping to reduce pressure on the nation’s water supplies and saving yourself money at the same time.

If you’d like to find out more, get in touch with the SwitchWaterSupplier.com team today to see how we can help.