Anglian Water fined for wastewater spill

Anglian Water has been fined after wastewater spilled from one of its sewage treatment works, killing hundreds of fish in Essex.

Earlier this week, the firm was charged £42,000 for the incident, which happened in September 2009 when discharged sewage affected more than two kilometres at the River World.

Chelmsford Crown Court ruled that the company had failed to follow procedures that were in place in an attempt to prevent the waste from leaking into the waterway.

The case was brought to court by the Environment Agency and officer Tim Poulding said: "A catalogue of errors led to this pollution seriously affecting wildlife."

He confirmed that a large number of fish were killed, adding: "An assessment of the water quality showed effects on the macroinvertabrate community consistent with acute pollution."

Earlier this winter, residents in Abergavenny were asked to check their homes were connected to the correct drains by Environment Agency Wales in a bid to prevent leaks into the River Gavenny and maintain its water quality.

Posted by Joseph Hutton