Severn Trent has agreed to pay £600,000 to the Trent Rivers Trust following a pollution incident - the payment follows the Environment Agency's investigation into the pollution of a Leicestershire brook by the water company.
The brook was polluted when Severn Trent failed to operate a pumping station properly. An investigation by the Environment Agency revealed that the issue was not corrected for a few weeks in September 2022.
Officers discovered that the pumping station fault had caused the pollution of a 1 kilometre stretch of West Meadow Brook, near Whitwick. There was an “overwhelming” odour and a thick coating of sewage fungus covering the bed. Human faecal matter was also visible.
The case has ended in the company offering an Enforcement Undertaking (EU) and giving Trent Rivers Trust £600,000 to improve and restore vital habitats which the Environment Agency has accepted.
An EU is a voluntary offer made by companies and individuals where the Environment Agency has reason to believe an offence has been committed. It usually includes a payment to an environmental charity to carry out improvements.
The Environment Agency received reports of discharged sewage into the brook on 12 September 2022. Contractors arrived at Brooks Lane Pumping Station the same day to stop the discharge.
The investigation revealed, however, that the discharge had been on-going for some weeks before. Severn Trent admitted that their teams had failed to see that pumps had ‘latched out’ and were not activated. The company also admitted that their teams had failed to monitor the site when the telemetry system had failed.
Emma Hardy, Minister for Water and Flooding, said:
“Pollution incidents like this are completely unacceptable and should never have been allowed to occur. It is only right that Seven Trent pays for its failings, and I’m pleased local environmental charities will benefit.
“After years of failure, this Government is strengthening regulation further through the Water (Special Measures) Bill so that water companies are held to account, benefiting customers and the environment.”
Neil Ratcliffe, the investigating officer for the East Midlands Environment Agency, said the Agency would always consider prosecution in the most serious cases, but Enforcement Undertakings were an effective enforcement tool for less serious cases.
Matt Easter, chief executive officer for Trent Rivers Trust, commented:
“Whilst we would rather such incidents did not take place, Enforcement Undertakings are an effective tool to support the recovery of our rivers and catchments following severe pollution events.
“The funds will be used to restore and improve vital habitats and introduce or enhance natural processes that will cope better during any future pollution incident.”
Enforcement Undertakings are available to the Environment Agency as an alternative sanction to prosecution or monetary penalty for certain environmental offences. Accepting an EU is always at the discretion of the Agency.
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