Southern Water Fined Over £7 Million for Sewage Offences
Southern Water has been fined more than £7 million after dumping sewage illegally off the Kent coast between 2019 and 2021. The company, said to have caused harm from 'a pattern of repeated incidents over several years,' pleaded guilty to 13 offences at Medway Magistrates' Court last April over sewage discharges at Margate and Broadstairs wastewater pumping stations between 2019 and 2021.
Details of the Offences
Nine counts related to the incidents of untreated sewage dumped off the Kent coast, while three counts were over failure to notify authorities of the discharges as soon as practicable and within 24 hours of a warning, which is a condition of its environmental permit. A final conviction was for failing to have a standby pump at Margate's station between July 27, 2019, and October 4, 2020, in breach of its permit.
Sentencing and Fine
The sentencing at Canterbury Crown Court took place across Thursday and Friday, with Mr Justice Johnson imposing a total fine of £7,127,083. This follows a previous fine of £90 million for nearly 7,000 incidents across Hampshire, Kent, and Sussex in a case brought by the Environment Agency in 2021.
