Yorkshire Water has been fined £865,000 for polluting a watercourse with millions of litres of chlorinated water, killing hundreds of fish. The water firm pleaded guilty in February to polluting Ingbirchworth Dike near Barnsley.
Sheffield Magistrates' Court issued the fine following an Environment Agency investigation into the serious pollution incident. The case highlights ongoing concerns about water company compliance with environmental regulations.
Treatment works discharge disaster
The incident saw Ingbirchworth Water Treatment Works illegally discharge chlorinated water into the watercourse for nearly a month in 2017. The watercourse connects Ingbirchworth and Scout Dike reservoirs in the area.
About one million litres a day of chlorinated water was discharged during the pollution event. Chlorine is toxic to fish and other aquatic life even at low levels, making the discharge particularly devastating for local wildlife.
Hundreds of fish found dead
More than 430 dead fish were found in just one day as a result of the contamination. The pollution was caused by a series of failures by Yorkshire Water in relation to a treatment tank at the works.
The treatment facility provides 90,000 people in Barnsley and South Yorkshire with drinking water every day. Intermittent but regular discharges of chlorinated water continued for 27 days, with Barnsley Trout Club reporting dead fish at Scout Dike reservoir on November 26, 2017.
Environmental impact assessment
Environment Agency officers found 434 dead fish on a 1.5km stretch of water between the treatment works and reservoir. The agency warned the fish death toll was likely to be substantially higher than the number found.
Jacqui Tootill, water industry regulation manager for the Environment Agency in Yorkshire, said the pollution was not caused by unforeseen circumstances. "This pollution was not caused by an unforeseen event or extreme weather," she said.
Systemic failures identified
"The systems were simply not robust enough and this wouldn't have happened if proper checks had taken place," Tootill explained. She emphasised that the Environment Agency expects full compliance from water companies.
"We are committed to taking robust enforcement action where we see serious breaches," she added. "We're pleased Yorkshire Water has now been dealt with by the courts following our investigation."
Yorkshire Water was ordered to pay costs of £34,979.79 and a victim surcharge of £170 in addition to the substantial fine. The case demonstrates the serious financial consequences water companies face for environmental breaches.
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
