Southern Water has admitted sewage discharges – which happened soon after they were handed a record fine for pollution
The company, which deals with waste water along the south coast including in Portsmouth and parts of Hampshire, has admitted fault over the incidents in Kent which took place weeks after it received a record £90m fine for illegal dumping.
It comes after Southern Water was handed the multimillion-pound fine in July 2021 for 6,971 unpermitted sewage discharges in Hampshire, Sussex and Kent between 2010 and 2015.
The Environment Agency said Southern Water plants in Whitstable discharged pollution into the sea directly or via Swalecliffe Brook in August 2021, just weeks after the punishment was handed down. On August 6, the waterway Swalecliffe Brook had untreated sewage pouring into it where investigators found around 70 dead fish, including eels.
Canterbury City Council put up signs along Tankerton and Herne Bay beaches to warn against swimming for nearly a week after the incident because of the water quality, the regulator said.
Elsewhere Southern Water pleaded guilty after diesel got into Swalecliffe Brook and then into the sea from the company’s local wastewater treatment plant when a generator failed and began leaking in July 2019.
The company also admitted breaches across three days from March 5 2020 where untreated sewage was dumped into Faversham Creek after a wastewater station’s pumps stopped working.
Swalecliffe Brook was also hit on the same day with sewage carried into the sea.
The Environment Agency also said an “almost identical incident” took place in October 2020.
The Environment Agency’s water industry regulation manager in the south east Dawn Theaker said: “All of these pollution incidents could have been avoided if Southern Water had managed operations more carefully, and had in place the necessary checks to deal with problems when they occurred.
“It’s a familiar pattern with water companies. Always catching up with events. The Environment Agency will keep Southern Water in its sights with more inspections, even tougher regulation and prosecution in the most serious cases.”
Anyone who suspects pollution in seas and rivers is urged to contact the Environment Agency’s 24-hour incident hotline on 0800 807060.
Southern Water will be sentenced at Medway Magistrates’ Court on a date to be confirmed.
A Southern Water spokesperson said: “As this is an ongoing court matter, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further. However, we recognise the gravity of these charges – pollution incidents are never acceptable. We have been working hard to improve in this area, and have already reduced pollution incidents by 38% over the past five years.”
