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Thames Water has been hit with a £380,000 fine and ordered to pay costs of £23,000 at Aylesbury Crown Court for polluting a stream in Buckinghamshire.
The case was brought by the Environment Agency (EA) after Thames Water caused pollution from its site at Princes Risborough sewage treatment works to enter Horsenden Stream – part of the River Thames catchment area in the Chilterns, which is listed as an area of outstanding natural beauty.
Thames Water pleaded guilty at Wycombe Magistrates Court on 5 August 2015 and was committed to Aylesbury Crown Court for sentence.
The court heard how in February 2013 an officer conducting an unrelated fisheries survey of the stream had to stop for his own welfare because of the level of sewage in the stream.
Judge Sheridan noted that if it wasn’t for the fisheries survey the incidents were unlikely to have come to light due to the “unacceptable level of management failures” at the site.
A further discharge was seen by officers during a site visit on 5 March 2013 when the sewage in the stream looked like feathers in places, and again on 19 July 2013, the latter being caused by a blockage in the works.
Environment Officer Holly Linham said: “We take these types of incidents very seriously and will do everything within our powers to safeguard the environment and people that maybe affected, and that includes holding those who put the environment at risk to account for their actions.”
“We take our responsibilities to the environment extremely seriously and very much regret the incidents in 2013,” said a spokesperson for Thames Water. “We have since made a number of changes at Princes Risborough sewage works to further improve resilience and protect the Horsenden Stream.
“This has included raising the level of the storm weir to prevent unnecessary discharge into the stream and restructuring how the site is managed to ensure it is better maintained.”
In sentencing the court gave Thames full credit for its early plea. The company has since changed the management structure at the site and raised the storm weir. As a result the stream has improved.
The court placed on record the company’s commitment to improving its environmental performance and noted that it could face significantly higher fines in future if it did not stay true to its word.
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