Southern Water has pleaded guilty to environmental offences after a wastewater treatment works discharged excessive levels of suspended solids and iron into the River Test, which supplies the Island’s drinking water, following a series of equipment failures.
The water company admitted 2 charges at Medway Magistrates’ Court on 14th July, following a prosecution brought by the Environment Agency over pollution from Fullerton Wastewater Treatment Works near Stockbridge in March 2023.
The case centres on an incident discovered by Environment Agency officers during routine water quality monitoring in March 2023.
Inspectors detected dark particles in the River Test and traced the pollution almost 4 miles upstream to Fullerton Wastewater Treatment Works, where a dark plume was entering the chalk stream.
Investigators found that only 1 of the site’s 4 tanks used to remove sludge and scum from wastewater was operating correctly. Another had reportedly been awaiting repair for more than a year, while pumps feeding effluent to sand filtration beds were also suffering technical problems.
Sampling confirmed suspended solids in the discharge were more than 3 times the permitted limit, while iron concentrations – responsible for giving the pollution a red tinge – also exceeded the site’s environmental permit.
The Environment Agency said Southern Water failed to notify the regulator after becoming aware of the problems, despite identifying at least 2 missed opportunities to do so.
Simon Moody, of the Environment Agency, has said:
“Chalk streams like the River Test are precious, natural resources. But they are also fragile and this incident came to light thanks to the close eye we keep on their health.
“Southern Water’s safeguards which should have protected this chalk stream failed one by one. That’s unacceptable. Chalk streams should be gin clear. Thorough maintenance and tested process would have prevented this.”
Southern Water pleaded guilty to breaching the conditions of its environmental permit by discharging wastewater containing more than 50mg/l of suspended solids and more than 8,000 micrograms per litre of total iron.
The River Test is one of the world’s most important chalk streams and is home to genetically unique Atlantic salmon, which rely on clean, well-oxygenated water and are considered more vulnerable than other salmon populations.
Water quality testing carried out by the Environment Agency 11 days after the incident showed conditions had significantly improved.
The prosecution comes amid continued scrutiny of Southern Water’s environmental performance. Recently in West Wight, Freshwater Parish Council unanimously voted no confidence in Southern Water as the company continues to pollute vital water sources across the Island.
The River Test is a vital resource for residents on the Isle of Wight, supplying Hampshire and the Isle of Wight with the majority of their drinking water.
As previously reported by Island Echo, the Environment Agency described the company’s overall environmental performance as “unacceptable”, with inspectors carrying out more than 730 inspections of Southern Water assets over the past year. Just 68% were found to comply with their environmental permits, resulting in more than 400 improvement actions being issued by the regulator.
The Environment Agency says it completed its target of 10,000 inspections of water company assets this year as part of its increased focus on environmental compliance.
Sentencing for Southern Water will be heard at a later date.
I knew something was up with the drinking tap water. The last few weeks it’s tasted really metallic, I thought it was my taste buds. Now I’m not so sure. Will be avoiding tap water for the foreseeable future. Shame on southern water
So why are the government allowing them to screw every house hold,for charges for water returned to the sewer for treatment when it is not happening, and why are the government allowing them to dump untreated sewerage into our rivers and seas?