Anglian Water has been fined a total of £563,609.21 after a treatment plant failure let millions of litres of sewage into a river killing invertebrate and fish across 3 kilometres.
An Environment Agency investigation found failures from the water company in planning, managing, and monitoring at the Doddinghurst Water Recycling Centre, near Brentwood, Essex.
This led to more than 3.9 million litres of harmful sewage discharged into the Doddinghurst Brook unchecked for 2.5 days. This damaged the river’s ecosystem as well as killing a number of a protected species.
Anglian Water was ordered to pay a fine of £536,000, costs of £27,439.21 and a victim surcharge of £170 at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court (24 November 2022).
The District Judge Sam Goozee described Anglian Water’s record as ‘lamentable’.
Environment Agency Chief Executive Sir James Bevan said:
“We welcome this sentence. Serious pollution is a serious crime. The Environment Agency will pursue any water company that fails to uphold the law or protect nature. We will continue to press for the strongest possible penalties for those which do not.”
The court heard how a fault in an aeration process at the Wyatts Green site in 2018 meant sewage discharged into the tributary of the River Wid.
This was compounded by the lack of an early alarm system which would usually alert staff of any issues. This could have been avoided, the court heard. Software, costing £205, could have been fitted to the system retrospectively when a fault occurred on the same part of the process earlier in the year.
The recycling centre, 8 miles south of Chelmsford, is responsible for treating sewage from around 6,600 local people. It discharges treated sewage into the upper Wid, also known as Doddinghurst Brook.
Environment Officer at the Environment Agency, Gavin Senior, said:
“The fine handed to Anglian Water shows polluters are made to pay for damaging the environment.
“The invertebrate and fish population in this area, including a protected species, suffered significantly because of this sewage pollution. It took time for the local ecosystem to recover.
“The public demand tough action when it comes to water quality and we are delivering. Anyone caught breaching environmental laws faces enforcement action, up to and including prosecution.
“We will always ensure the courts have all the information they need to impose appropriate sentences.”
