West Midlands firm Drain Clearing 247 Ltd has been fined thousands of pounds for illegally using hydrants following a successful prosecution by Severn Trent.
The company, based in Neachells Lane in Wolverhampton, was fined £5,301.33 at Telford Magistrates Court last week after admitting illegally using hydrants on two occasions – once in Telford and again in Coventry.
Severn Trent is now calling on people across the region to report any suspicious hydrant use. People or companies using hydrants illegally can lead to customers getting discoloured water or losing their supply altogether.
Dan Littlewood from Severn Trent, commented:
“To make it easier to spot those using our hydrants illegally, we’ve teamed up with Aquam Water Services.”
“This now means all of our authorised standpipes are painted bright green and feature the Severn Trent and Aquam logos. So, if anyone sees our hydrants being used by someone using anything other than a bright green standpipe, please let us know.”
In addition to the new standpipes, Severn Trent has also been busy fitting tens of thousands of new locking caps to hydrants which can only be unlocked with special equipment. To date, more than 30,000 caps have been fitted across the network.
The water company said this should put an end to people using and opening the hydrants without permission, making water supplies across the region much more secure.
Dan Littlewood added:
“Illegal hydrant use is one of the major causes of discoloured water in the Severn Trent region as the draw of water through the hydrant can disturb harmless sediment that normally sits at the bottom of the pipe.”
Since the start of 2016 Severn Trent has successfully prosecuted 28 companies and written more than 100 warning letters to firms that have been caught illegally using hydrants. A further 20 companies are currently under investigation.
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