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Severn Trent Water Ltd pleaded guilty on 18 December at Derby Magistrates’ Court to one offence of polluting a watercourse.
The charges were brought by the Environment Agency under the Water Resources Act 1991. Severn Trent Water Ltd was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,212.79.
For the Environment Agency, Jill Crawford, told the court that Severn Trent Water Ltd operates Milnhay Sewage Treatment Works (STW) in Langley Mill, Derbyshire. The STW treats the sewage generated from the surrounding urban areas including Heanor and Langley Mill.
The STW is situated adjacent to the River Erewash, which is a small urban watercourse. It rises in Kirkby in Ashfield and flows in a southerly direction towards the river Trent. Prior to entering the Trent the river passes through the Attenborough Gravel Pits, which are designated a Site of Special Specific Interest.
On 28 October 2007 Severn Trent Water Ltd informed the Environment Agency that the STW was experiencing pump problems allowing untreated storm sewage to discharge to the River Erewash. Downstream of the STW was checked and found to be running grey in colour and smelt of sewage.
Eighty seven dead fish, including chub, pike and bullheads, were counted downstream from Milnhay STW. A fisheries survey and biological survey concluded that downstream of the STW was at the time devoid of fish and had been severely impacted upon by the pollution. The findings also showed that invertebrates population had been impacted upon by the input of an organic pollutant.
On 27 February 2008 Seven Trent Water Limited were interviewed about the incident. They admitted that the discharge of sewage into the River Erewash was due to a fault in the system and that the temporary pumps had struggled to cope.
Speaking after the case Neil Ratcliffe, an Environment Agency Officer involved in the investigation said:
“We hope that today’s outcome will serve as a warning to companies, that we will not tolerate any threats to the environment. In this case, it was an unforeseen circumstance that resulted in untreated sewage going into a good quality watercourse causing it to get polluted.“
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