Severn Trent fined over discharge of sewage

SEVERN Trent Water has been fined a total of £1.5 million for illegally discharging sewage from four treatment works in Worcestershire – including around Redditch, Bromsgrove and Evesham.

In one instance, around

360,000 litres of sewage flowed into Broadway Brook at Blackminster, near Evesham, over four hours, a court heard. Sugar Brook and Hen Brook, both in Bromsgrove, and Priest Bridge on the outskirts of Redditch, were also affected.

Sewage escaped into a number of watercourses in Worcestershire between February and August 2018 after the company failed to respond to alarms warning of a blockage. The company also failed to adequately manage sewage sludge or a situation when a piece of equipment failed, Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court heard.

Severn Trent, which pleaded guilty to four offences at a previous court hearing in August, was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £58,365.

James Puzey, prosecuting for the Environment Agency, said Severn Trent Water failed to respond promptly to alarms at its sewage treatment works at Blackminster, near Evesham, in February 2018.

A blockage to the works resulted in approximately 360,000 litres of sewage being illegally discharged into the nearby Broadway Brook – but it was hours before Severn Trent Water staff arrived to take remedial action.

The court also heard how during the winter of 2017 into 2018, the company failed to adequately manage treatment of sewage sludge at other works in Worcestershire, causing sludge to build up within the system.

At the company’s sewage treatment works at Bromsgrove and Stoke Prior, problems with the sewage treatment process led to discharges into the Sugar

Brook and Hen Brook in March 2018.