Construction company fined for damaging water quality

A Buckinghamshire construction firm has been prosecuted by the Environment Agency for causing a pollution incident in the Cauldwell Brook and River Maun.

In May 2008, Buckingham Group Contracting Limited of Stowe released polluted water into the two streams following a failure to its treatment system.

The company was working from a site adjacent to the Mansfield and Ashfield regeneration route when the incident occurred.

Two discharge points via balancing ponds, which are used to filter out solid material before it flows into the rivers, were being used.

According to the Environment Agency, the pumping operation did not discharge through the treatment system, which led to polluted material entering the Cauldwell Brook.

Yvonne Ratcliffe, an officer with the organisation, commented: "It is essential to have procedures in place to control discharges into watercourses, but more importantly to ensure that they are adhered to."

Buckingham Group Contracting was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay a further £5,052.79 in costs in addition to a £15 victim surcharge.

Environment Agency statistics have revealed that discharges from businesses and the water industry are the main sources of water pollution in the UK.

Posted by Claire Manning