South West Water Ltd pleaded guilty yesterday to five offences related to illegal water discharge activities and a breach of an environmental permit when it appeared before Plymouth Magistrates’ Court.

The company has admitted two charges relating to the Hooe Lake Sewage Pumping Station at Plymstock between August and September 2020 of causing a sewage discharge and breaching an environmental permit, one of causing a discharge into Polperro harbour in August 2019 and two relating to discharges at Bodmin Road, Whitleigh, Plymouth in August and September 2020.

The water company was charged with breaching a condition of its Environmental Permit under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 at its Hooe Lake Sewage Pumping Station where a discharge of raw sewage occurred when the flow passed forward was not equal to or greater than the overflow setting indicated due to rainfall and/or snowmelt.

South West Water was also charged with breaches of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 which caused a water discharge activity into Polperro Harbour and separately at Budshead Creek, Whitleigh, Plymouth. The discharges were described in court as 2the discharge into inland freshwaters of poisonous, noxious or polluting matter.

The case has been adjourned for sentencing at a later date.