Anglian
Press Office - 16-Oct-2006 - Sewage ran from an
Anglian Water manhole, through a dry reservoir
used for flood water, into a low level drain and
ended up in a lake at Dallington Lawn Tennis Club
in Northampton.
Despite being aware of the overflow,
the water company did not investigate where the
sewage had run to and a clean-up was not completed
for a month, Daventry magistrates were told today
(Mon).
Anglian Water Services admitted
causing trade or sewage effluent to be discharged
into the lake contrary to the Water Resources
Act 1991 and was fined £10,000 with £6,855
costs.
An Environment Agency prosecutor
told magistrates that on the morning that officers
had first visited the lake there were no dead
fish, however five days later groundsmen at the
tennis club found 138 dead fish on the lake and
over the weir into Dallington Brook.
Organic matter such as sewage
lowers the quality of the water and takes some
time to break down, depleting the oxygen supply
in the water as it does so, which can cause fish
to die.
Anglian Water admitted that
there was a blockage in the sewer resulting in
an escape of sewage through the manhole cover
but claimed that items put down the sewer had
been put there maliciously and had caused a blockage
to occur. These items included an acroprop, fold-up
scooter, iron bar and concrete.
The company could not explain
to the Environment Agency why it had not notified
them for five days. A manager said they had not
investigated the full extent of the pollution
because they had not realised there was an outlet
in the reservoir and did not clean up the ground
immediately because the ground was too wet.
The sewage leak was first spotted
by a man out walking his dog at night on 10 May
last year who notified Anglian Water. He described
a strong smell of sewage and seeing brown sewage
water oozing from a manhole. He said the manhole
cover was broken and water was coming about a
foot out of the manhole and spreading over the
ground.
On 19 May Anglian Water had
agreed to have the contaminated water removed
from the sump of the reservoir and to get the
solids removed from the bank of the reservoir
and around the manhole. But three weeks later
there was still a considerable quantity of liquid
in the sump and the area around the manhole was
still wet and contaminated with foul sewage solids.
Anglian Water told Agency officers
that there had been past problems on the foul
sewer at the location due to fat deposits which
had led to significant amounts of maintenance
there.
Magistrates said that because
Anglian Water had failed to notify the Environment
Agency of the blockage and pollution there had
been a delay of seven days before a clean-up began.
There had been a potential for harm to the public
and animals.
They did acknowledge Anglian
Water’s efforts in cleaning up the pollution and
co-operation with the investigation of the incident.
After the hearing Environment
Agency officer Norman Robinson said: ‘This was
a lengthy investigation which highlights the complex
nature of the drainage system in this area. An
overflowing manhole led to a discharge into a
fishing lake almost 1/2 a mile away. During the
course of the investigation it was discovered
that items had been thrown into the foul sewer
line and had caused it to block.'
'It is important that if you
notice a sewage discharge, or witness anyone throwing
items into the sewer, you report it to the utility
provider and the Environment Agency as soon as
possible. In this way we can work together to
prevent such incidents in the future. Everyone
must do their bit to ensure that our sewers stay
clear. The Environment Agency has a 24 hour hotline
on 0800 80 70 60 for all such incidences.’
Anglian Water Services pleaded
guilty to:
On or about 10 May 2005 you
did cause trade effluent or sewage effluent to
be discharged into controlled waters, namely Dallington
Lawn Tennis Club Lake at Dallington, Northampton.
Contrary to section 85(3)
and section 85(6) Water Resources Act 1991
