Southern Water has been handed a fine exceeding £7 million by Canterbury Crown Court for unlawfully discharging sewage into the sea off the coast of Kent, causing significant harm to local wildlife and tourism.
The company, found responsible for a series of repeated incidents spanning several years, admitted to 13 charges at Medway Magistrates’ Court last April regarding sewage discharges at Margate and Broadstairs wastewater pumping stations between 2019 and 2021.
Of the charges, nine were related to the discharge of untreated sewage off the Kent coast, while three were for failing to promptly notify authorities of the discharges within 24 hours of being warned, as required by its environmental permit.
During the sentencing hearing, it was revealed that some of the sewage released into the waters was “unscreened,” containing solid waste. Additionally, it came to light that on February 16, 2021, untreated sewage from the Broadstairs wastewater station was discharged into the sea for five consecutive hours due to a technical error, with authorities only being informed after the discharge had ceased.
One of the convictions was for the failure to have a standby pump at Margate’s station between July 27, 2019, and October 4, 2020, in violation of its permit.
The sentencing, conducted at Canterbury Crown Court over two days, resulted in a total fine of £7,127,083 imposed by Mr. Justice Johnson. This penalty follows a previous fine of £90 million imposed on the company for nearly 7,000 incidents across Hampshire, Kent, and Sussex in a case brought by the Environment Agency in 2021.
