JMorgan

Published at 00:00, Thursday, 23 February 2006

UNITED Utilities Water Plc have been fined £4,000 after polluted matter was allowed to enter the River Keekle.

Whitehaven magistrates heard how a broken pipe resulted in 200,000 litres flowing from the pumping station into the river, covering its bed with silt.

Jane Morgan, for the Environment Agency, said agency officers “purely by chance’’ saw the silty discharge in the river and traced the source to the pumping station.

The officers were told there had been two incidents of pipe failure within 24 hours on or around September 20, 2005.

Mrs Morgan told magistrates that there was subsequently no evidence of harm on the river’s aquatic life, but there had been “potential for harm’’.

Eric Owen, for United Utilities, said the pollution incident had not been foreseeable and was “not a deliberate offence’’.

United Utilities treats 900,000 million litres of waste water every day, Mr Owen said, and the water discharged into the river following the pipe failure had been “a small amount’’. He said the problem was isolated as soon as it was discovered.

He told magistrates that following the offence, United Utilities staff at the pumping station had been reminded to promptly report incidents to the Environment Agency and said it had been “a lesson learnt in liaison’’.

United Utilities were also ordered to pay £1,290 costs.

IN a statement to The Whitehaven News, United Utilities said they regretted the incident in which drinking water escaped from a burst water main at Summergrove and entered a tributary of the River Keekle.

It said: “The company takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously and has taken steps to help ensure that the Environment Agency is informed in the event of a similar situation.

“The burst was repaired as quickly as possible and there was no evidence of any damage to the environment.’’

Bill Shaw, United Utilities' water operations director, said: "We responded as quickly as possible to repair the burst water main and there was no indication that the drinking water caused any environmental damage.

"We accept that reporting procedures were not followed correctly and have taken steps to help ensure our employees are aware of these responsibilities in future."

The company was prosecuted under sections 85(1) and 85(6) of the Water Resources Act 1991 and admitted one offence.

Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk