Tim
Abbott - 20-Oct-2006 - Thames Water Utilities
Limited has been fined a total of £*** for
polluting two Hertfordshire rivers with raw sewage
on the same day.
The company pleaded guilty to
breaching Section 85 of the Water Resources Act
1991 in two separate incidents on Wednesday 14
September 2005.
At Hertford Magistrates on Friday
20 October, the company was fined £20,000
for polluting the Small River Lee in Hertfordshire.
They were also fined £20,000 for polluting
Straight Cutting in Hertfordshire. They were ordered
to pay £2,926 in combined costs.
The first incident left a number
of fish dying or distressed after sewage from
an overflowing surface water drain polluted two
miles of the Small River Lee in Cheshunt.
On Wednesday 14 September 2005
the Environment Agency received a call from a
member of the public reporting dead or distressed
fish and officers traced the source to Lea Valley
Park, off Cadmore Lane, Cheshunt.
Environment Officer Iain Regan,
who led the investigation, said: "This incident
occurred due to poor maintenance of the sewer,
which allowed a build up of fat and grease to
cause a major blockage."
The Small River Lee is a semi
urban watercourse, running alongside a mixture
of residential, industrial and rural areas. On
its western bank lie the towns of Cheshunt, Waltham
Cross, Hoddesdon, Turnford and Wormley. On it’s
eastern bank the land is mainly rural, much of
it forming the Lea Valley Regional Park.
The initial investigation at
Waltham Cross failed to locate the source of the
pollution so Environment Agency officers began
working upstream. They spotted approximately 30
fish and one eel in distress, while further up
the river 20 more small fish were struggling due
to the low levels of oxygen in the water.
The source of the pollution
was identified further upstream in the Lea Valley
Park where a surface water drain was found to
be discharging sewage. These drains are supposed
to carry only clean rainwater from roofs and roads
to rivers.
Thames Water was notified and
they discovered a trunk foul sewer blocked with
fat, grease, tennis balls, plastic foam and plastic
litter. After lifting manhole covers further along
the trunk line officers discovered significant
blockages of solidified fat and debris. Work began
to clear the line immediately and continued until
the following morning.
"The state of this main
sewer was incredibly poor; every manhole blocked
along a mile of trunk sewer. The fat deposits
were so thick that heavy duty equipment had to
be brought in to break it up and remove the blockage,"
continued Iain.
"Although this incident
shows the difficulties faced by water companies
with sewers becoming blocked by people flushing
fat and other debris into them, such problems
can be avoided by regular maintenance."
Another call from a member of
the public on Wednesday 14 September led officers
to investigate reports of raw sewage in the Straight
Cutting, Hertford, between Mead Lane and Chadwell
Spring.
On arrival the officers saw
the river was a cloudy colour and there was a
strong smell of sewage in the air. The incident
had also killed a small number of fish as oxygen
levels in the water plummeted to a tenth of their
normal levels.
A sewer blockage had occurred,
causing foul untreated sewage to overflow into
a clean or surface water sewer via an illegal
overflow. This overflow had been only been partially
and inadequately sealed with boards some years
previously. Thames Water sent a team to unblock
the sewer and subsequently sealed up the overflow
with bricks. The incident was serious with more
than 1km of the river being polluted with raw
sewage.
"Water companies have a
statutory responsibility to identify and ensure
effective sealing of illegal overflows between
foul sewers and rivers, which is part of their
general duty to maintain their sewers. This incident
could easily have been avoided had Thames Water
sealed the connection properly in the first place,"
added Iain.
"The court has shown how
seriously it takes pollution incidents by fining
the company a total of £40,000 today. Thames
Water Utilities Limited declared record profits
earlier in the year and has in the last few days
been sold for £8 billion."
