United Utilities Water PLC have been fined £12,000 at Halton Magistrates’ Court for allowing untreated sewage to enter Springfield Brook, Warrington.
The company was also ordered to pay the Environment Agency’s costs of £2,895.
Untied Utilities (UU) pleaded guilty to three offences:
causing sewage effluent to be discharged into Springfield Brook, Warrington
failing to maintain the stand by pump at Warrington Road Pumping Station, Locking Stumps, Warrington
failed to repair a pumping station as soon as reasonably practicable
The court heard that on the afternoon of 9 June 2009 the Environment Agency was called to investigate a serious pollution incident at Springfield Brook. The water had turned brown in colour, there was solid sewage in the water and a strong smell of sewage.
The Environment Agency contacted United Utilities to report the incident and request that action was taken. Testing of the brook and a nearby pond at Birchwood Golf Club showed that oxygen levels were very low. Ecological surveys concluded there had been severe impact on the ecology of the watercourse. United Utilities was requested to arrange for the brook to be cleaned up and the company agreed to do so.
During the investigation it was found the United Utilities had failed to respond to a series of alarms from their telemetry system from 6 June onwards and for that reason had only become aware of the pollution when the Environment Agency contacted the company. The company failed to follow procedures for dealing with alarms which it had introduced following a previous pollution incident in 2006.
The incident occurred because, of the three pumps at the pumping station two broke down and a third pump had been removed for repair. United Utilities are required to fix any problems at the pumping station as soon as reasonably practicable in order to ensure that pollution incidents such as these do not occur.
Karen Henson, Environment Agency Officer said:
“This incident had the potential to cause significant damage to the environment, which could have been avoided if the company had responded to the alarms promptly. United Utilities own and operate the sewer network throughout the region and are responsible for resolving any problems with this system. It is particularly disappointing, that the company failed to follow procedures introduced following a previous incident.“
With the UK government demanding a 50% reduction in storm overflow spills by 2029, the era of reactive management is over. Speaking in the House of Commons on 21 July 2025, then environment secretary Steve Reed said, “This Government will cut water companies’ sewage pollution in half by the end of the decade.”
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