UK water firm fined for pollution

A water firm based in Tunbridge Wells in England has been fined for polluting a local waterway, it has been revealed.

Southern Water was fined £22,000 and a further £8,900 in costs after pleading guilty to polluting the River Grom.

A failure at its sewage treatment works in Tunbridge Wells was responsible for the spills.

The firm pleaded guilty to breaching three of its sewage discharge limits during the summer of 2006 as raw sewage was leaked into the river, killing around 500 fish.

Graham Purvis, quality manager for Southern Water, explained: "We greatly regret this incident and have taken extensive steps to try to ensure it does not happen again."

In similar developments, WaterTechOnline.com reported that an investigation into green-tinged water in the Salt River in the US concluded that it was due to a mixing of chemicals from two different nearby plants.