UK penalises Thames Water for sewage leakage into Hertfordshire canal

UK water utility giant Thames Water has been penalised for repeated instances of pollution by its Tring STW (Sewage Treatment Works) facility at the Grand Union Canal in Hertfordshire.

The £1m fine has been termed as ‘record-breaking’, as it is the highest ever charged for a water company in a prosecution brought by the UK Environment Agency.

Environment Agency had filed the case against the utility following repeated discharges of polluting matter from the sewage treatment facility between July 2012 and April 2013 to the Wendover Arm of the canal.

The utility had pleaded guilty before Watford Magistrates Court to two charges under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010.

St Albans Crown Court has imposed the £1m fine on Thames Water, along with additional costs of £18,113.08 and a victim surcharge of £120.

The utility has a valid permit for the discharge of treated effluent from the Tring STW into the canal.

However, the inlet screens at the facility had repeatedly failed to function properly, thus resulting in blockage of the equipment and discharge of sewage debris and sludge into the canal.

The partially treated sewage released is expected to contain polluting matters including suspended solids, high levels of iron and aluminium, which in turn can affect the natural ecosystem.

Thames Water had invested £30,000 for replacing the inlet screens at the sewage treatment facility and also worked with the Environment Agency to arrange for installation of aeration at the outfall into the canal, in order to increase oxygen levels in the water.