An Environment Agency lawsuit against Yorkshire Water for polluting a Bradford watercourse resulted in a fine of £1,600,750. It was further ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £170 as well as costs of £22,112.79.
On Monday, July 18, the company appeared in Leeds Magistrates’ Court to receive a sentence after entering a guilty plea to unpermitted sewage discharges into Bradford Beck and environmental permit violations.
25 unauthorised sewage discharges into Bradford Beck occurred in 2018 as a result of its George Street detention tank in Bradford being filled for up to eight months at a time, the court heard.
During periods of heavy rainfall, the city centre tank gathers and holds a mixture of rainfall and sewage from the sewer system.
When a storm has passed, the tank’s pumps are turned on to send the mixture back into the sewers. The tank is intended to overflow into the watercourse if the incident lasts for a long time and it fills to capacity. In dry conditions, the tank should be empty when running properly.
The Environment Agency received four reports of sewage pollution in Bradford Beck over the course of two days in August 2018. An officer responded, and following an investigation and additional community information, a request for more information from Yorkshire Water was made. The research indicated that between August 2017 and September 2018, one or both of the two pumps that emptied the tank experienced intermittent failure.
The tank was full between January and August of 2018 according to the Environment Agency, and data spikes revealed 25 times the tank spilled.
The fact that the storm pumps weren’t working and the tank was full were both known to Yorkshire Water. It failed to provide a backup pump, fix the pumps as quickly as was feasibly practicable, maintain its pumps, and maintain the overflow.
According to information provided by the community, there was an immediate negative impact on fish and invertebrates following the illegal discharge in August 2018.
District Judge Kitson affirmed that Yorkshire Water was aware of serious issues with the George Street Detention Tank as early as August 2017 and that it was completely filled as of January 2018. He was satisfied that Yorkshire Water had no way to pump sewage back into the network and was aware that the pumps were not in use.
The judge came to the conclusion that the corporation knew a discharge into the tank would result in an illegal discharge into the Beck. Yorkshire Water was judged to have committed this offence recklessly by District Judge Kitson because they were making some progress but not moving quickly enough.
In their statement of mitigating circumstances, Yorkshire Water claimed that its Chief Executive, Nicola Shaw, attended court because the business took its environmental obligations seriously.
The business expressed regret and said corrective action had been done to resolve the problems. It acknowledged that it had been unable to control the issue, but it had cooperated with the investigation.
Environment Manager for the Environment Agency in Yorkshire, Ben Hocking, said:
“We take our responsibility to protect the environment very seriously. Water companies are aware that their activities have the potential to cause serious environmental impacts and they have a legal duty to avoid pollution. The regulations are clear.
“Yorkshire Water was aware the tank was full and likely to illegally discharge into the beck and failed to take action to prevent it from happening. They undermined the permitting regulations, which are in place to protect the environment.
“Our officers carried out a thorough investigation, with the support of the community, to put the facts before the court as part of our continuing commitment to hold water companies to account.”