Huge loss of soil from potato field costs farmer over £40,000 for polluting river
A Taunton potato farmer has been prosecuted by the Environment Agency for causing silt, soil and potatoes to escape from a field and seriously pollute a tributary of the River Tone in Somerset.
Pumping station sewage pollution incident costs Yorkshire Water £364,000 in court
Yorkshire Water has been fined £350,000 after one of its sewage pumping stations polluted a York watercourse and ordered to pay costs of £14,028.65 and a victim surcharge of £170.
Southern Water pleads guilty to pollution incidents in case brought by Environment Agency
Southern Water appeared at Medway Magistrates’ Court in Kent last week on Tuesday 22 April 2025, following an Environment Agency investigation into pollution incidents which took place between 2019 and 2021.
Water company bosses could face up to two years in prison due to new powers coming into force today
New powers under the Government’s landmark Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 have come into force today which could see water company bosses who cover up or hide illegal sewage spills face up to two years in prison.
South West Water - legal challenge to reduce charges for sewage spills from two Cornish sewage pumping stations fails
The Environment Agency has won a case against South West Water which tried to prevent 12 charges relating to sewage discharges in Cornwall being taken forward in an impending prosecution.
Water (Special Measures) Act signed into law yesterday includes powers to ban bonuses for polluting water bosses
The Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 received Royal Assent yesterday, boosting the powers of water sector regulators to tackle pollution. The major legislation to crack down on water company executives polluting Britain’s rivers, lakes and seas has been signed into law in the most significant increase to enforcement powers in a decade.
Polluting river with bleach costs Huddersfield company almost £9,000 in court
A Huddersfield company has been fined and ordered to pay costs totalling almost £9,000 after it polluted a river with bleach and killed hundreds of fish.
Environment Agency prosecutes Lancashire farming partnership for slurry pollution
A farming business has been fined and ordered to pay costs totalling more than £10,000 for twice polluting a watercourse and breaching slurry regulations.
New study reports high levels of bacteria found in London's third longest river
Untreated sewage discharges and unpermitted outfalls have caused dangerously high levels of bacteria to be found at multiple sites across a nine-mile stretch of the River Roding, London’s third longest river, a new study by environmental charity Thames21 and The River Roding Trust has found.
NRW publishes interim State of Natural Resources Report - and calls for urgent action to address decline
Urgent and collective action is needed now if Wales is to redress the balance between the degradation and protection of our natural resources in the face of ongoing nature, climate, and pollution emergencies.