18-Jul-2006 - Thames Water
has been ordered to pay nearly £14,000 for
discharging sewage into the Pymmes Brook, killing
more than 100 fish.
The urban brook in East Barnet supports a stock
of fish and other aquatic life as well as serving
as a popular local amenity, particularly in the
Oak Hill Park area.
On 13 July Barnet Magistrates' Court imposed a
fine of £12,000 and ordered the company
to pay £1,911.90 costs.
Environment Agency officers were called to Brookside,
East Barnet, on 11 April 2005 after members of
the public reported sewage in the brook.
The source of the sewage was quickly traced to
an outfall in Church Hill Road. The court heard
that a blocked drain had caused foul sewage to
overflow into a surface water drain that discharges
into the Pymmes Brook via a storm outfall. The
main species of fish affected by the pollution
were roach, sticklebacks and crucian carp. I
Investigating officer Chris Ford said: "We
contacted Thames Water who sent a recovery team
to clean up the area. They also discovered a blocked
drain, which had caused foul sewage to overflow
into a surface water drain which discharges to
the Pymmes Brook via a storm outfall.
"This was a serious incident which will have
killed the majority of the fish life in that stretch
of the brook.
"When we first arrived at the brook we found
around 50 fish dead or dying in the water. The
pollution had caused oxygen levels to plummet
and our officers couldn't see a single healthy
fish for a mile downstream of the affected outfall."
Notes
• Thames Water Utilities Ltd was fined £12,000
and ordered to pay £1,911.90 costs at Barnet
Magistrates' Court on 13 July.
• Thames Water Utilities was found guilty of causing
polluting matter to enter Pymmes Brook, in Barnet
contrary to Section 85 of the Water Resources
Act 1991.
Tim Abbott
