Anglian Water was fined £1.6 million after a faulty valve at its Braintree site sent sludge into the River Brain in 2022, raising ammonia to a 10-year high, the Environment Agency (EA) said.
The EA identified April 13 to June 2, 2022, as the period covered by the prosecution. It said pollution affected nearly 14 kilometers of the river between Braintree and Witham.
The agency said the valve had been broken for a week before the first incident. Semi-solid sludge entered the river, and monitoring recorded its highest ammonia level in the previous 10 years. The EA said the incidents reflected failures to respond to warning signs and significantly affected water quality.
The prosecution covered an untreated sewage discharge beyond the site’s environmental permit and a separate failure to meet permit conditions. Anglian Water was ordered to cover £27,334 in legal costs and a £190 surcharge, the agency said.
In its statement, Anglian Water put the penalty at £1.63 million; the EA reported £1.6 million. The company said water with high ammonia levels left its Braintree site twice in 2022. It said it reviewed its Water Recycling team, changed leadership and operating procedures, and increased asset monitoring.
Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle said, “They should, and must, do better to stop pollution before it happens.”
The EA said its enforcement record since 2015 includes more than 70 successful prosecutions involving water companies in England, which have produced £169 million in fines. It also reported nearly 1,800 inspections of Anglian Water wastewater sites and more than 830 improvement actions in the 12 months to March. The agency gave the company a two-star rating in its latest environmental performance assessment.
The EA said Anglian Water had pleaded guilty in a separate case involving discharges off Southend in 2021 and 2022. Sentencing in that case is due next April, the agency said.
