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South West Water has been slapped with fines and costs totalling more than £80,000 following two wastewater pollution events in Devon.
The first case saw the company hit with a £45,000 fine, and £5,700 in costs by a judge at Taunton Crown Court for breaching discharge limits on five occasions at a wastewater treatment works in Dunkeswell between May 2013 and May 2014.
The problems at the site stemmed from a faulty inlet screen, which then allowed sludge to build up in the settlement tanks, overwhelming the filter system, and ultimately causing the discharges.
Concerns about the condition of the site had previously been raised and it had been earmarked for improvement in 2007 and was due for an upgrade as part of South West Water’s Glidepath programme in 2013. An increase in the local population served by the pumping station has also increased the pressure on the facility.
The Environment Agency’s environment officer Mischka Hewins said: “South West Water should have seen that problems were leading to the likelihood of breaches of permit and done more to prevent it.”
South West Water admitted breaching the agreed discharge limits, and responding to the fine, a spokesperson said the company “regrets and accepts occasional operation issues affected final effluent quality at Dunkeswell sewage treatment works in 2013/14”.
They added that more than £900,000 has since been spent at the facility to improve performance, and a “much more rigorous and regular inspection regime” has been introduced.
In a separate case, the company was fined £28,000 and ordered to pay more than £4,000 in costs after an incident at its Milford Park pumping station resulted in sewage spills at three locations.
A faulty valve at the pumping station on 27 June 2013 meant the pumping station became partially blocked. The resulting backlog of sewage in the pumping station and sewers resulted in three spills which also affected beaches in Teignmouth, which saw two sites fail bathing water quality tests on the day.
The court also heard that there was an hour and a half delay between the alarm sounding at 8:50pm and South West Water responding to them.
South West Water has since made improvements at the Milford Park pumping station which has remedied the problems.
A version of this story first appeared on wwtonline.
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