SouthWest Water fined for polluting Kirkham Stream

South West Water fined over sewage effluent polluting the Kirkham Stream

On April 6, 2006 a member of the public reported that sewage was coming from a bank of the Kirkham Stream.

Agency officers visited the site and found effluent pouring into the river from a bank at the bottom of the garden of a house in Churscombe Green.

A blockage in a sewer, immediately upstream of the Smokey Pumping Station, resulted in sewage escaping into the upper reaches of the Kirkham Stream via a defect in a manhole chamber. The presence of sewage fungus 150 metres downstream of the discharge indicated the pollution had occurred over several days.

Samples were taken from the stream and a Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) analysis, which measures the amount of oxygen used by bacteria to digest organic pollutants, produced a reading of 282 mg/l – the equivalent of levels found in raw sewage. A clean river would typically have a BOD of 1 – 3 mg/l. Analysis also showed high levels of ammonia which is toxic to fish even at low concentrations.

The following day the Agency carried out an ecological appraisal that showed the Kirkham Stream had been significantly affected by the incident.

A court heard that there had been a discharge of sewage effluent from the same stretch of riverbank in 2003.

‘Given the previous problems on this stream, the company could have done more to reduce the likelihood of sewage escaping into the watercourse and causing pollution,’ said Richard Fisher for the Environment Agency.

Appearing before South Devon magistrates at Totnes today, South West Water, of Peninsula House, Rydon Lane, Exeter was fined £ 2,500 and ordered to pay £ 3,000 after pleading guilty to causing sewage effluent to enter controlled waters, the Kirkham Stream, contrary to Section 85 of the Water Resources Act 1991.

The Environment Agency’s free 24 hour hotline for reporting environmental incidents is 0800 80 70 60.