Thames Water fined for canal pollution

[adam1uk]

From PA:

 

 

THAMES WATER FINED £1 MILLION OVER CANAL POLLUTION

By Ryan Hooper, Press Association

Thames Water has been hit with a record-breaking fine for polluting a canal.

The sentencing judge said the #1 million punishment underlined the need for

"very large organisations" to "bring about the reforms and improvements for

which they say they are striving", after the company repeatedly caused the

Tring sewage treatment works to enter the Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal

in Hertfordshire.

The charges relate to repeated discharges between July 2012 and April 2013.

The fine for Thames Water Utilities Limited is the highest for a water company

in a prosecution brought by the Environment Agency (EA). Thames was also ordered

to pay costs of #18,113.08 and a victim surcharge of #120.

The company pleaded guilty at Watford Magistrates' Court in May to two charges

under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010.

Sentencing at St Albans Crown Court today, Judge Andrew Bright QC said: "The

time has now come for the courts to make clear that very large organisations

(such as Thames Water) really must bring about the reforms and improvements for

which they say they are striving because if they do not the sentences passed

upon them for environmental offences will be sufficiently severe to have a

significant impact on their finances."

The court heard that poorly performing inlet screens caused equipment at the

works to block, leading to sewage debris and sewage sludge being discharged into

the canal.

Routine samples of the discharge taken on January 31 2013 contained high levels

of iron and aluminium, and showed a high chemical oxygen demand.

Emily Rowland, EA environment officer, said: "We welcome the court's decision

to penalise Thames Water for serious breaches of its environmental permit, which

led to pollution of the Grand Union Canal.

"We take these types of incidents very seriously and will do everything within

our powers to safeguard the environment and people affected, and that includes

holding to account those whose actions put the environment at risk."

The EA received complaints from members of the public and the Canal and Rivers

Trust about pollution in the canal. Officers attended the site on several

occasions, and saw sewage debris including sanitary products and ear buds in the

vicinity of the outfall.

Thames Water explained to the court that it spent #30,000 on replacing the

equipment at Tring.

It has taken steps to avoid further such incidents and there has been a

significant improvement in its recent environmental performance, the EA said.

mfl

042026 JAN 16

[David Mack]

If the press release is to be believed, not only did sewage enter the canal, but so did the Tring treatment works itself (repeatedly)!

[Chewbacka]

According to BBC report, they released sewerage 9 times over about 9 months. The cost to fix the cause was just £30k.

Maybe a £1M fine will make them move quickly next time they have equipment problems.

[NigelMoore]

This was twice as much as BW were fined for what amounted to a finding of corporate manslaughter [it was called something else which I cannot now remember].

 

Negligence leading to a man's death is half as bad as negligence leading to pollution?

 

I wonder if there was any accompanying conviction of a company officer; there should have been. That sharpens the managerial mind more than a dent in the company finances.

[mark99]

TW are a disgrace.

 

They wholesale exterminated all life from a large section of the Wandle in London (fined 125K) the bloody eels crawled out of the river blinded by bleach before dying, also same on the Longford River. As well as regular pollutions of the Thames.

Edited January 5, 2016 by mark99

[alan_fincher]

I'm fairly sure I remember this incident, although I can remember no explanation at the time of what had occurred.

 

Miles of the canal were covered in a carpet of thick brown / green slime, which lay around all the boats on one of our moorings, which is 9 locks and several miles away from that "treatment" plant.

 

Large amounts carried on through several more pounds to the North.

 

I can't recall seeing a news story about the pollution we witnessed at the time, but perhaps I missed it.

 

Of coiurse it is possible it was an unrelated incident, but the timing seems about right to me.

[BlueStringPudding]

Good

 

Edited to add: good about the fine. Not HMS Fincher floating in poopeedoop

 

Edited January 5, 2016 by BlueStringPudding

[Gwydion]

TW are a disgrace.

 

They wholesale exterminated all life from a large section of the Wandle in London (fined 125K) the bloody eels crawled out of the river blinded by bleach before dying, also same on the Longford River. As well as regular pollutions of the Thames.

 

Bastards.