UU prosecuted over raw sewage

United Utilities (UU) has been fined £750,000 for allowing seven million litres of raw sewage to flow into the Duddon Estuary at Millom in south Cumbria.

The company was also ordered to pay £38,501.95 in costs and a £120 victim surcharge at hearing at Preston Crown Court today (3 March 2015) following a prosecution by the Environment Agency.

The discharge escaped into the Duddon Estuary on 12 May 2013 after the failure of the United Utilities owned King Street Pumping Station in Millom.

The pumping station is supposed to move raw sewage from local homes and businesses to a nearby waste water treatment works, but on 11 April 2013 the standby storm pump was taken away for repairs and no substitute standby pump was provided or maintained, breaching the permit conditions required to operate the facility.

A routine check of the pumping station by UU on 13 May 2013 found that the remaining pump had failed, leading to untreated sewage being discharged into the Duddon Estuary. A subsequent investigation found that the pump had failed at 2:30pm on 12 May 2013, so the pumping station had been discharging raw sewage for 16 hours.

Full pumping capacity was not restored at the pumping station until 17 May 2013 meaning that, even after the incident and in the event of further heavy rainfall, there was a further four days where untreated sewage could have flowed into the estuary.

UU co-operated with the Environment Agency’s investigation had admitted three breaches of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010, at a previous hearing.

United Utilities said that it had spent £18million improving sewage disposal and treatment at Millom and is considering lodging an appeal relating to the level of the fine.