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Severn Trent Water is facing fines of more than half a million pounds for polluting a Leicester brook with human waste.
The Environment Agency’s report found an “overwhelming” smell and visible human waste on a stretch of West Meadow Brook at Whitwick, near Coalville.
The company admitted its fault and has now agreed to pay money to a wildlife organisation as a penalty.
Neil Ratcliffe, the investigating officer for the East Midlands Environment Agency, said: “Protecting the environment in the East Midlands and taking action against those that damage or threaten this is our utmost priority.
“We will always consider prosecution in the most serious cases but Enforcement Undertakings are an effective enforcement tool for less serious cases. They allow companies to put things right and contribute to environmental improvements.”They also allow polluters to correct and restore the harm caused to the environment and prevent repeat incidents by improving procedures.”The agency said it was called to the brook on September 12, 2022, and after finding the discharged sewage had the flow stopped at Brooks Lane Pumping Station the same day.
The investigation revealed the discharge had been on-going for some weeks before.Severn Trent said its staff had failed to see that pumps were not working properly. Its teams had then failed to monitor the site after the data-gathering system – which had allowed them to do it remotely – had failed.
A Severn Trent spokesperson said: “We accept full responsibility for this incident and we hope that the contribution to the Wildlife Trust will hopefully go some way towards making this right.
“We’re committed to ensuring that our work does not harm the environment and have made sure that we have learnt the lessons from this event.”
The Trent Rivers Trust said it would use the funds to improve wildlife habitats.
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