United Utilities fined 10,000 GBP for pollution

United Utilities fined 10,000 GBP for pollution

United Utilities has today been fined 10,000 GBP for discharging sewage into Hey Brook, Abram.  They have also been ordered to pay costs of 2966.79 GBP.

United Utilities pleaded guilty to the offence of causing sewage effluent to be discharged into controlled waters, in September 2007.  The pollution occurred due to a pump failure at Hindley pumping station, at Hindley, near Wigan. 

The Court heard that the Environment Agency were contacted by a member of the public who reported that Hey Brook had turned grey in colour and was teeming with dead and dying fish.  There was also a smell of sewage in the area.  

A pump failure at Hindley pumping station caused sewage to flow into storm overflow tanks, instead of being pumped to the sewage treatment works as would normally happen.  As the volume in the tanks increased, sewage overflowed into neighbouring Hey Brook.   Over 5,000 cubic metres of sewage was discharged into Hey Brook, affecting approximately 6 kilometres of the Brook from Hindley pumping station to Pennington Flash, a local lake and nature reserve. 

There may have been some localised effect on Pennington Flash, but it is likely that the size of the lake would have acted to dilute the effluent and minimise any impact.  Investigations carried out by Environment Agency officers indicated that the pollution had a significant impact on the ecology of Hey Brook and over one hundred fish were killed. 

United Utilities has a consent, at Hindley pumping station, however this only permits the company to discharge storm sewage into Hey Brook when the flow in the sewer is high, such as during periods of heavy rainfall.  In these circumstances, any sewage discharge would be diluted by rainwater and the Brook would also be in high flow.  It may also discharge emergency overflow if there is a total failure of the power supply.  This incident was not permitted under the company’s discharge consent. 

Commenting on the case, Gordon Whitaker, Environment Manager said, “This was a serious incident which damaged the eco system of the Brook, killing fish and invertebrates, and resulting in an unpleasant smell.  United Utilities own and operate the sewer network throughout the region and are responsible for resolving any problems with this system.  This incident caused significant damage to the environment, which could have been avoided.”

Ends

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Notes to Editors

Members of the public can report suspected pollution incidents by calling the Environment Agency incident hotline on 0800 807 060.  This is a free, 24 hour service.

Offence:
That on or about 11 September 2007 at Hindley Pumping Station, Hindley, you caused sewage effluent to be discharged into controlled waters, namely Hey Brook, contrary to Section 85(3)(a) and Section 85(6) of the Water Resources Act 1991.