Severn Trent Water fined for chemical leak

Severn Trent Water has been hit with a £350,000 fine for polluting the River Amber in Derbyshire killing an estimated 30,000 fish.

The company was fined at Derby Crown Court and was ordered to pay Environment Agency costs of £68,003, in addition to a victim surcharge of £120.

The dead fish and 5km of damaged ecology along the River Amber led to proceedings brought against Severn Trent Water following the incident.

In November 2015, the Environment Agency received reports of dead fish in the River Amber.

After searching the area and carrying out discussions with Severn Trent Water employees, it was found that the incident occurred due to a release of sodium hydroxide into the river from the company-operated Ogston Water Treatment works.

It was identified that a leak within a chamber at the Treatment works had led to the contamination of the contents with the chemical, which then entered the river from an outfall pipe.

Monitoring of the natural recovery of the river ecology by the Environment Agency over the last two years has shown some improvements, but full recovery is not expected until the summer of this year.

Severn Trent co-operated fully with the investigation and contributed £228,000 to the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust.

An Environment Agency officer involved with the investigation said: “This is a significant fine imposed on Severn Trent Water Limited for causing pollution.

“Pollution causes damage to the environment and river ecology, in this case sodium hydroxide with a concentration of 20% amounts to a hazardous chemical and the leak affected 5km of the River Amber and killed approximately 30,000 fish and damaged other wildlife.”