A Berkshire property company has been ordered to pay more than £20,500 for breaching its consent to discharge treated sewage into a Thatcham stream.

RIVAR Ltd, of Newbury, Berkshire pleaded guilty on Monday to three charges of breaking the conditions of its discharge permit which resulted in harmful quantities of sewage entering the  Dunston Stream.

West Berkshire Magistrates’ Court fined the company £3000 each for three charges of breaching Section 85 of the Water Resources Act 1991  and ordered it to pay £11,500 costs as well as  an additional victim surcharge  of £15.

The court heard that the company failed to monitor and manage sewage treatment works at its site, leading to poor effluent quality. This impacted dramatically on downstream water quality, habitats and the environment as it flowed through front gardens of residents, past a school and through two parks in a residential area. This endangered the well-being of the local people using these facilities as well as having a detrimental effect on the water quality.

The Environment Agency had granted RIVAR Ltd a consent to discharge treated sewage from a mixture of residential and office properties. The discharge permit was based on a number of conditions, which are to mitigate the polluting effect of the discharge in the Dunston Stream. It sets levels for water quality parameters, such as solids, ammonia and biochemcial oxygen demand, which can all be measured in effluent. RIVAR Ltd also had to operate and maintain the sewage treatment works to keep the effluent within the consent limits so as to prevent pollution of the Dunston Stream.

Water samples were taken of the Dunston Stream by Environment Agency officers in October 2007. These showed that  Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) concentrations were 15 times over the consent limit, Ammoniacal Nitrogen levels were five times over the limit and the suspended solids were double.  Further samples taken downstream of the sewage plant found four times the BOD limits , and Ammoniacal Nitrogen levels 37 times higher.

Electrical damage from flooding caused pump failure

Failure of the sewage treatment works appears to have been caused earlier by exceptional flooding in July 2007 which damaged electrical isolators causing the pumps to fail.

The Agency said that RIVAR Ltd were helpful during the investigation, removing the effluent and repairing the sewage treatment works. However, further samples taken in May 2008 and June 2009  found water sample levels to be over the consent limits .Between September 2007 and September 2009 the Environment Agency hotline received several reports of pollution incidents relating to the sewage treatment works. Environment Agency Officers responded by attending the site to monitor the situation and take samples.

The sewage discharges were not only unsightly but it also affected the nearby resident’s peaceful enjoyment of their properties. There is a special needs school within 10 m of the stream and a park where children have open access to. The Dunston stream through which the discharge runs eventually joins the River Kennet which is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest( SSSI). The Dunston stream before the discharges started always had a clear water with a gravel bed inhabited by frogs, newts and toads.There is also a pond into which it flows which supports a wide range of flora, and fauna including frogs, newts and toads.

Investigating Officer Alison Love said:

“RIVAR failed to inform us within the agreed period of 28 days before starting the discharge, which was in contravention of the agreed conditions. This meant we were unable to collect samples of the discharge to check it met the consent effluent quality conditions. If the breach in the discharge permit had been identified earlier, the water quality in Dunston Stream may not have been as severely affected.

We work closely with farmers, businesses, water companies and the public to reduce pollution and improve water quality, but when companies like RIVAR fail to adequately monitor their operations thereby resulting in harm to the environment  we will take strong action.”