South West Water has been ordered to pay £3,883 in fines and costs following a sewage spill at St Agnes, Cornwall that resulted in pollution of a nearby beach. The case was brought by the Environment Agency.

On September 11, 2008 the Agency was alerted by a member of the public after they saw sewage discharging from the Peterville Pumping Station into the Trevaunance Cove stream. The pumping station is only a short distance (750 metres) upstream of Trevaunance Cove, a designated bathing beach popular with surfers and swimmers.

A water company contractor arrived on site and discovered one of the duty pumps had stopped working. He immediately reset the pump and the station began operating correctly again. An Agency officer noticed the Trevaunance Cove stream smelled strongly of sewage. He took samples from the stream and nearby bathing water. Both samples failed the minimum bathing water standards.

The court heard that sewage continued to be discharged from the pumping station from around 6.15am until 9.00am on the morning of  September 11, 2008 – a period of some two and three quarter hours. Approximately 25 surfers were in the water at Trevaunance Cove at the time of the spill.

By mid-morning Carrick District Council had erected warning signs on the beach informing  members of the public of the pollution incident and advising them not to enter the water.

Samples taken from the beach were found to contain bacteria levels well in excess of those permitted under the EU Bathing Water Directive. The faecal coliform figure for Trevaunance Cove was 5,000/100 ml – two and a half times the permitted maximum and more than 50 times the maximum allowed under the more stringent Guideline bathing water standard.

‘It is important pumping stations operate correctly, especially in sensitive locations like Peterville where any failure can have a negative impact on a nearby bathing water. South West Water was unable to explain the pump failure on this occasion, but whatever the reason, this incident resulted in an illegal discharge and pollution of a popular beach. We will continue to work with South West Water to reduce the risk of similar incidents in the future,’ said Andrew Blewett for the Environment Agency.

South West Water was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £1,883 costs by Camborne magistrates after pleading guilty to causing sewage effluent to enter controlled waters from the Peterville Pumping Station, St Agnes, Cornwall contrary to Section 85(3) of the Water Resources Act 1991. The case was heard on Thursday July 9.