Southern Water fined for sewage discharges

Southern Water has pled guilty to discharging raw sewage into the sea off the coast of Margate, according to the Environment Agency (EA). The company has been fined £200,000 for the releasing of untreated waste between January and June 2011. Pump failures at the Margate pumping station in Kent led to the offence.

For a period of six months, untreated sewage was released into the sea as the failure of the pumps at the Margate facility meant that Southern Water were unable to pump the waste to the Weatherlees Works treatment plant. Instead of pumping it away for treatment, it was discharged off the coast at Margate, a popular seaside resort.

As well as the discharging of raw sewage, it was also found that Southern Water failed to inform the EA or the local authority of the situation. As a result of these offences, the EA has announced that the company was found guilty of breaching its environmental permit. Southern Water was also found guilty of causing avoidable raw sewage releases.

Andy stamp, environment officer for the EA, said: "We would rather work with companies to assist them to comply with their environmental permits and minimise the risk to the environment. When, however, this does not happen there should be consequences.

"We take these types of incidents very seriously and will do everything within our powers to safeguard the environment and people affected, and that includes bringing those who harm the environment to account for their actions."

Southern Water has apologised for the leaks and has announced that a significant investment was made into its facilities to improve the company's performance.

The severity of the discharges meant that over 20 beaches had to be closed at points as it was not safe for visitors. On one occasion in 2011, sewage was discharged directly onto the beach.

Some have called for a harsher fine for the company's actions that would be more in line with the amount of profit made in the year that the offences occurred.