02 Apr 2024
According to the Environment Agency there were 3.6 million hours of spills compared to 1.75 million hours in 2022. Water UK, the industry body for sewerage companies, said it was ‘unacceptable’ but the record levels were due to heavy rain. Sewage spilling can be legal but environmentalists say it should only happen in exceptional weather. […]
22 May 2023
The privately owned companies have apologised for the amount of contaminated water being discharged into rivers and seas, amid mounting public anger over the practice. Ruth Kelly, the organisation’s chair, told BBC News: “We’re sorry about the upset and the anger from the fact that there have been overspills of untreated sewage onto beaches and […]
23 Aug 2022
Pollution warnings were put in place for dozens of beaches in England and Wales after untreated sewage was discharged into the sea around the coast. Southern Water is one of the water companies responsible for those regions, along with Wessex Water and South West Water. In a statement, they said: “There were thunderstorms accompanied by […]
04 Jan 2017
These fines are piling up given recent changes in the scale of fines allowed, highlighting failures in investment and systems. The Environment Agency think this trend will decline up to 2020. Southern Water fined record £2m for sewage leak on Kent beaches Thanet council forced to close beaches for nine days due to ‘catastrophic’ leakage […]
25 May 2016
Guardian: ‘Water companies have been hit by a series of record fines for major sewage leaks and other pollution incidents. Yorkshire Water was fined £1.1m for illegally discharging sewage that polluted the river Ouse near York, while Thames Water was fined £1m for repeated sewage leaks into the Grand Union canal. The financial penalties have […]
26 Jan 2016
Environment Agency: Pollution incident killed hundreds of fish at Walton Colliery Nature Park Yorkshire Water Services Ltd has been fined £600,000 after an ageing sewage pipe burst and killed hundreds of fish in a Wakefield lake. The company was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court on Tuesday 19 January after pleading guilty to one charge of […]