Southern Water fined £2.4m for Kent pollution

Southern Water has been fined £2.4m after multiple incidents of sewage pollution. It’s the Environment Agency’s second successful prosecution of the company this year, with other cases going through court.  

Weeks after they were given a £7.1m penalty for pollution that closed several beaches in Thanet for days, the company has been back in court to face more charges, this time for harming the environment around Faversham and Whitstable between 2019 and 2021.   

Sitting at Bromley magistrates’ court, district judge Stephen Leake heard Southern Water was charged with releasing untreated sewage, sewage debris, diesel and waste matter into the sea and a brook across a 2-year period. This included two incidents happening at the same time in different locations.

In July 2019, people saw and smelled what turned out to be diesel in Swalecliffe Brook in Whitstable. Environment Agency staff were sent to the scene, laying absorbent booms to limit pollution from Southern Water’s local wastewater treatment plant.

The diesel got into the brook and then the sea after a generator leaked. It was the summer holiday season, but the public were warned to keep themselves and their pets out of the water.

Lindsay Faulkner, environment manager for the Environment Agency in Kent, said:

We have continued to press Southern Water to improve performance through 700 inspections of their sites in the past year, detailing 400 improvements they needed to take. We will not hesitate to prosecute for wrongdoing like here.

The pollution and the disruption to local businesses, and people wanting to enjoy days out, could have been avoided if Southern Water managed operations better. They didn’t have the checks in place to deal with problems.

Water companies must learn to identify and fix problems before the environment pays the price. We will continue to hold Southern Water to account.