Anglian Water fined £1.6m for sewage pollution of River Brain
The Environment Agency says Anglian Water has been fined £1.6m after repeated sewage pollution of the River Brain over six weeks in 2022.
£1.6m fine imposed
The Environment Agency says Anglian Water has been fined £1.6m after repeated sewage pollution of the River Brain over six weeks in 2022. District judge Timothy King handed down the fine at Cambridge magistrates' court on 14 October, following a hearing that examined local mismanagement by the company between April and June 2022.
The Environment Agency says the court also ordered Anglian Water to pay costs of £27,334 and a £190 surcharge.
Faulty valve and ignored alarms
According to the Environment Agency, the pollution was traced to a faulty valve at Anglian Water's water recycling centre in Braintree, which had been broken for a week before the first incident in April 2022. The agency says this caused semi-solid sludge, which is normally removed from sewage, to release high levels of ammonia into the river. The Environment Agency says the company ignored alarms warning that poorly-treated sewage was being discharged, and that staff did not communicate with each other about the incidents.
The Environment Agency says a further, similar discharge occurred in late May, and investigators tracked the pollutant as it moved along the river. The resulting pollution stretched for nearly 14km along the Brain between Braintree and Witham, the agency says.
Highest ammonia levels in a decade
The Environment Agency says its monitors detected levels of toxic ammonia in the river that were the highest recorded in the previous ten years.
Marcus Sibley, the Environment Agency's water industry regulatory manager for East Anglia, said the agency has significantly increased its scrutiny of the water industry and will take enforcement action where performance fails to meet required standards. He said the pollution incidents resulted from organisational failure by Anglian Water to recognise risk and act on warning signs.
Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle said Anglian Water had been too slow to act and that the environment paid the price, adding that the company should and must do better to stop pollution before it happens.
Charges and wider context
The Environment Agency says it charged Anglian Water with causing a discharge of untreated sewage outside its environmental permit for the Braintree site between 13 April and 2 June 2022, and with a separate offence of failing to comply with that permit. The prosecution was brought under regulations 12(1)(a), 38(1)(a) and 38(2) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.
The Environment Agency says Anglian Water has separately admitted polluting the Thames Estuary on two occasions, pleading guilty to discharging sewage and other harmful material off Southend in 2021 and 2022, with sentencing due next April.
The Environment Agency says it carried out nearly 1,800 inspections of Anglian Water's wastewater sites in the 12 months to March, identifying more than 830 actions to improve operations, and that Anglian Water was classified as a two-star-performing company in its last environmental performance assessment. The agency says water companies in England have been prosecuted more than 70 times since 2015, securing £169m in fines.
Key takeaways
- The Environment Agency says Anglian Water was fined £1.6m at Cambridge magistrates' court on 14 October for sewage pollution of the River Brain between April and June 2022.
- The Environment Agency says the pollution stemmed from a faulty valve at Anglian Water's Braintree water recycling centre that had been broken for a week before the first incident, releasing high levels of ammonia into the river.
- The Environment Agency says the pollution stretched nearly 14km along the Brain between Braintree and Witham, and monitors recorded the highest ammonia levels in the river in ten years.
- The Environment Agency says Anglian Water was also ordered to pay £27,334 in costs and a £190 surcharge, and separately has pleaded guilty to polluting the Thames Estuary off Southend in 2021 and 2022, with sentencing due next April.
- The Environment Agency says water companies in England have been prosecuted more than 70 times since 2015, securing £169m in fines.
FAQ
Why was Anglian Water fined?
The Environment Agency says Anglian Water was fined for causing a discharge of untreated sewage into the River Brain outside its environmental permit for the Braintree water recycling centre between 13 April and 2 June 2022, and for failing to comply with that permit.
How much was the fine and related costs?
The Environment Agency says district judge Timothy King fined Anglian Water £1.6m at Cambridge magistrates' court on 14 October, and also ordered the company to pay costs of £27,334 and a £190 surcharge.
What caused the pollution?
The Environment Agency says a faulty valve at Anglian Water's Braintree water recycling centre, broken for a week before the first incident, released semi-solid sludge into the river, causing high ammonia levels, with a further similar discharge in late May.
Is this the only pollution case involving Anglian Water?
The Environment Agency says Anglian Water has separately pleaded guilty to discharging sewage and other harmful material off Southend into the Thames Estuary in 2021 and 2022, with sentencing scheduled for next April.