Yorkshire Water has been fined £865,000 for polluting a watercourse with millions of litres of chlorinated water, killing hundreds of fish.
The water firm was issued the fine at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty in February to polluting Ingbirchworth Dike near Barnsley, the Environment Agency said.
The incident saw Ingbirchworth Water Treatment Works illegally discharge chlorinated water into the watercourse, which connects Ingbirchworth and Scout Dike reservoirs, for nearly a month in 2017, the agency said.
About a million litres a day of chlorinated water was discharged, resulting in more than 430 dead fish found in one day, as chlorine is toxic to fish and other aquatic life even at low levels.
The pollution was caused by a series of failures by the water company in relation to a treatment tank at the works, which provides 90,000 people in Barnsley and South Yorkshire with drinking water every day, the Environment Agency said.
As a result there were intermittent but regular discharges of the chlorinated water for 27 days, with Barnsley Trout Club reporting dead fish at Scout Dike reservoir on November 26, 2017.
Officers from the Environment Agency found 434 dead fish on a 1.5km stretch of water between the treatment works and reservoir, with the agency warning the fish death toll was likely to be substantially higher.
Jacqui Tootill, water industry regulation manager for the Environment Agency in Yorkshire, said: “This pollution was not caused by an unforeseen event or extreme weather.
“The systems were simply not robust enough and this wouldn’t have happened if proper checks had taken place.
“We expect full compliance from water companies and are committed to taking robust enforcement action where we see serious breaches.
“We’re pleased Yorkshire Water has now been dealt with by the courts following our investigation.”
Yorkshire Water was fined £865,000, and ordered to pay costs of £34,979.79 and a victim surcharge of £170.
A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said: “We take our environmental responsibilities very seriously and we apologise for the harm that was caused by this incident.”
The company said that since the incident, “we’ve thoroughly reviewed our processes and procedures to ensure this doesn’t happen again at any of our sites”.
They added: “We’ve also invested in improved monitoring and equipment at Ingbirchworth water treatment works.
“Separately, we know our wider pollution performance hasn’t been where it should be.
“We are investing £8.3 billion over the next five years – an average of £3.2 million every day – to improve service levels, cut pollution and make Yorkshire’s water infrastructure fit for the future.”
