United Utilities fined nearly £1M after raw sewage discharge
Preston Magistrates Court heard the incident was an example of “reckless culpability”.
A water company has been given a record £900,000 fine after a “major pollution incident” across Lancashire.
United Utilities Water Limited pled guilty to five environmental offences after raw sewage was discharged into the Fylde coastline in 2023, leading to widespread swimming bans across Blackpool, Lytham, and Fleetwood.
Preston Magistrates Court heard that the incident followed a partial pipe collapse at the Fleetwood Wastewater Treatment Works between June 11 and June 22 2023.
The collapse meant that less sewage could get through to the treatment works, causing a backup of waste across the system.
Later, heavy spells of rain flushed the sewage out of the pipes through three pumping stations on the coastline.
Raw sewage was later found across beaches and within recreational bathing areas such as Fleetwood baths, and also led to three shellfish beds being shut down by the Food Standards Agency due to fears for public health.
Scientists then found the water tested positive for E. coli.
United Utilities admitted that they had not followed rules set by the Environment Agency on when sewage could be discharged from pumping stations.
The pipe has since been repaired and the pumping station returned to full service, though United Utilities estimate the cost of fixing the affected areas to be around £38 million.
Following the incident, they also voluntarily paid £250,000 to Blackpool Council after images of Blackpool Tower were used in media coverage of the incident.
At the time, they had been in the middle of a tourism campaign, and the sewage discharge was said to have “significantly harmed” the city’s reputation.
In court on Tuesday (September 8), the Environment Agency’s water regulation manager said that United Utilities’ offending amounted to “reckless culpability”, and described the incident as “unacceptable”.
“This was an unacceptable pollution incident which had far-reaching consequences for residents and businesses along the Fylde Coast,” said Andy Brown.
“Our investigation found that United Utilities Water Limited discharged sewage outside the conditions of its environmental permits. The company admitted those breaches, and today’s fine reflects the seriousness of the offences and the harm caused.
“Water companies have a fundamental responsibility to properly manage their assets and comply with the environmental permits designed to protect our rivers, seas and communities. When they fail to do so, we will hold them to account
“We will continue to rigorously regulate the water industry, investigate breaches and take action against companies that fail to meet their environmental obligations.”
United Utilities was ordered to pay a record £964,225 in total fines and costs following the incident.
They have since committed to funding a variety of local projects, including £1.5 million towards a new public paddling pool and splash park in Fleetwood.
Chris Borradaile, Director for Wastewater Services, said: "We want to reiterate our sincere and unreserved apologies for this incident and the harm and disruption it caused. We accept responsibility for what happened and recognise that we fell short of the standards our customers and communities rightly expect.
“Since then, our focus has been on putting things right. We have committed more than £100 million to our response, including a permanent engineering solution to increase the resilience of our infrastructure, which is on track to be delivered three years earlier than would normally be expected for a project of this scale.
“Following consultation with local representatives, we are also investing in a range of community projects that will deliver lasting benefits for the people of Fleetwood and the Fylde coast.”
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