The Environment Agency has prosecuted a Midlands company which failed to safely maintain Ward’s Reservoir in Lancashire, putting residents in nearby Belmont at risk.
The reservoir spillway which was not maintained. Credit: Environment Agency
At Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court on 8 October 2024, Blue Lagoon Heritage Ltd, of Old Marlbrook Quarry, Lydiate Ash, Bromsgrove, admitted failing to comply with an enforcement notice issued under the Reservoirs Act 1975.
This required the company to complete essential maintenance and construction works in the interests of public safety. The company was ordered to pay fines and costs of £5,445.
The court heard that a notice was served on the company by the Environment Agency’s National Reservoir Safety Team in May 2021. This was to carry out safety measures under the supervision of a qualified civil engineer.
However, the company by October 2021 had failed to carry out the work and weekly safety checks by Environment Agency officers were started.
In June 2022, the Environment Agency intervened to protect public safety, commissioning contractors to inspect and free the outlet valve.
This allowed levels in the reservoir to be managed and maintained at 5.25 metres below the maximum top water level, significantly reducing its risk of failure.
In the continued absence of adequate management by the company the Environment Agency has since been conducting site visits and engineer safety checks.
Karl Hunter, Enforcement Advisor for the Environment Agency’s National Reservoir Safety Team, said:
“The director and owners of Blue Lagoon Heritage Ltd failed to respond to advice and enforcement notices to improve the unacceptable and unsafe condition.
“This failure to comply came despite repeated site inspections and warnings from Environment Agency officers and independent expert engineers.
“This caused unacceptable risks to local residents and businesses in the village of Belmont and surrounding areas downstream of the reservoir.
“The owners of all Large Raised Reservoirs are regulated under the Reservoirs Act 1975 by the Environment Agency. The Act requires owners to maintain their reservoirs in full compliance with safety recommendations, set periodically by independent reservoir engineers.
“Blue Lagoon Heritage Ltd took ownership of Ward’s Reservoir in 2019 and has consistently failed in its legal duty.
“We will continue to work to tackle inadequate maintenance of reservoirs which puts lives at risk. We are committed to ensuring that reservoir safety standards are adhered to.”
The company was charged with failing to comply with the requirements of a Notice made on the 20 May 2021 under Section 10(7)(b) of the Reservoirs Act 1975. This required safety measures to be put into effect at Wards (Blue Lagoon) Reservoir under the supervision of a qualified civil engineer by the 28 July 2021.
Reservoirs in England and Wales capable of holding more than 25,000 cubic metres of water must be registered with the Environment Agency and the owners must comply fully with the requirements of the Reservoirs Act 1975.
The Act is designed to provide a regulatory framework for maintaining reservoir safety to prevent an uncontrolled release of water and risk to life.
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