Southern Water deliberately dumped billions of litres of raw sewage into the sea

[Fambo Number Mive]

This is pretty shocking, and surely more should have happened that just a fine? Shouldn't the company lose their licence or the board of directors face some penalty?

Southern Water has been fined a record £90m for deliberately dumping billions of litres of raw sewage into the sea.

The company admitted 6,971 illegal spills from 17 sites in Hampshire, Kent and West Sussex between 2010 and 2015.

His Honour Mr Justice Jeremy Johnson said the offences had been "committed deliberately" by Southern Water's board of directors at the time.

Lawyers for the company had told Canterbury Crown Court the spills were the result of "negligence".

The offences were discovered as part of the Environment Agency's largest ever criminal investigation, which began after shellfish were found to be contaminated with E. coli.

Raw sewage had been diverted away from treatment works and into the environment, allowing the company to avoid financial penalties and the costs of upkeep and upgrades, the court heard...

In Bedhampton Creek, in Havant, Hampshire, anglers reported finding sanitary towels, condoms and tissues in the water, along with a strong smell of sewage, the court heard..

The offences had been aggravated by Southern Water's "persistent pollution of the environment" which had led to 168 previous convictions and cautions, he said...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-57777935

Southern Water isn't the only water company that's been pumping raw sewage into our waters recently:

Thames Water has been fined a record £20m after pumping 1.9 billion litres of untreated sewage into the River Thames.

The company admitted water pollution and other offences at sewage facilities in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.

Fish and birds died following the spills in 2013 and 2014.

The £20.3m fine is the largest penalty handed down to a water utility for an environmental disaster.

Judge Francis Sheridan said the scale of the problem was such that it must have been known up the chain of command...

Judge Sheridan said the company had a "history of non-compliance" and that managers had ignored warnings and "risks identified by employees and others"...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-39352755

However, as Jeremy Stern notes, these fines aren't exactly a problem for the water companies:

However, the fine amounts to a tiny proportion of the company's annual income. Thames Water makes an operating profit of around £2m every day

No doubt water companies will just pass the cost of fines onto their customers, and those at the top will still receive massive salaries. But they create wealth, so it's ok for them to carry on polluting out waters, killing wildlife and putting public health at risk. I wonder how many private beaches in the UK are at risk of having sewage pumped into them.

Southern Water was fined £2m a few years ago when a pumping station failed during heavy storms, leading to over 20 Kent bathing beaches being closed. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-38365368

[Sebastian Cobb]

I think this happens fairly regularly unfortunately. During the brexit campaign there were some "what have the EU done for us?" articles that had a big breakdown of all the times they'd fined the UK for this sort of thing.

If you google "eu fine uk sewage" there's no easy list of events I can see, however there's plenty of results and articles still going in 2020.

[Fambo Number Mive]

I guess Leavers are happy to swallow the odd poo when having a swim if it means they can have blue passports. Plus it's a British poo which has been through British buttocks, it won't be any worse than that "foreign much" they ate the one time they went abroad, they tell themselves before blaming the BBC for their dicky tummy for the next week.

And those at the top of the Leave campaign probably find swimming in the sea vulgar and think the general public should be spending their money in amusement arcades and buying ice creams rather the swimming. Some of them might even escape to France! If we ensure the water is littered with condoms, poo and toilet paper, they won't want to go for a swim but will be helping the economy instead.

[Wonderful Butternut]

Privatising key public services like Housing and Sewage is such a good idea.

[bgmnts]

Privitisation fucking rules.

[BlodwynPig]

Southern Water are probably the worst of the utilities. Certainly the worst I've dealt with in my work on Covid. But this is old news, its an inside joke that the company lags behind the others in many areas on industry transformation.

[BlodwynPig]

Mind you, you can also blame the regulator OFWAT and government too. A lot of infrastructure is outdated and investment has been weak. Things have changed in the last 5 years but its not enough.

I've applied for a senior lecturer post and part of my pitch is to SORT THIS OUT.

[Chedney Honks]

Who cares its only shit

Where do you think it comes from in the first place?

[Zetetic]

I think it's fairly clear that the English just don't really want water supply and wastewater management.

[BlodwynPig]

I think it's fairly clear that the English just don't really want water supply and wastewater management.

Trolling

[Zetetic]

Democracy.

[Replies From View]

To be fair, what would you do with billions of litres of raw sewage? 


Like:  now, bang you suddenly have many billions of evian bottles filled with the stuff inside where you live - every cupboard and room and corridor and stairwell completely packed with evian bottles of sewage from floor to ceiling - and they're going out onto the street as well and down the road, onto all the other roads, the cars are crashing from them all.  all the bottles have your address on as well, so you can't just leave it.  people are blaming you and really getting on your back about it


honestly, what would you do with them all.  and presumably there's more and more appearing every day.

[Replies From View]

I'm going to call it Bruce Almighty 3:  This Time It Involves Billions of Evian Bottles of Raw Sewage

[BlodwynPig]

To be fair, what would you do with billions of litres of raw sewage? 

https://wbdg.org/resources/wastewater-treatment-and-water-resource-recovery-facilities-wrrfs

https://www.festo.com/us/en/e/technical-education/digital-learning/mixed-reality-id_31287/

[Replies From View]

what if they say no, you are directly responsible for taking all the bottles to the post office and you have to pay for the postage yourself

[Sebastian Cobb]

Southern Water are probably the worst of the utilities. Certainly the worst I've dealt with in my work on Covid. But this is old news, its an inside joke that the company lags behind the others in many areas on industry transformation.

They must have the most to deal with by, well, shitloads.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Who cares its only shit

Where do you think it comes from in the first place?

You're not supposed to put it back up there.

[Replies From View]

You're not supposed to put it back up there.

c'mon we're all sick of all these covid regulations now

[Poirots BigGarlickyCorpse]

I'm amazed they didn't even run it through a grate to take out the *ahem* rags.

[BlodwynPig]

I'm amazed they didn't even run it through a grate to take out the *ahem* rags.

Inlet to the works all have FOG traps / grit removal and screens for deragging.

[Replies From View]

Why not have a giant monster that eats sewage, or a volcano

[Better Midlands]

To be fair, what would you do with billions of litres of raw sewage? 


Like:  now, bang you suddenly have many billions of evian bottles filled with the stuff inside where you live - every cupboard and room and corridor and stairwell completely packed with evian bottles of sewage from floor to ceiling - and they're going out onto the street as well and down the road, onto all the other roads, the cars are crashing from them all.  all the bottles have your address on as well, so you can't just leave it.  people are blaming you and really getting on your back about it


honestly, what would you do with them all.  and presumably there's more and more appearing every day.

Jenkem festival.

[Buelligan]

Why not have a giant monster that eats sewage, or a volcano

I wonder, could one do it with an extremely expensive bridge?  Only ask because, if you could adapt your idea, I've heard of someone who has friends that might be able to pitch a plan.

[jobotic]

I went swimming at Whitstable and Tankerton last month.

No wonder I keep hocking up turds.



Heads won't roll.

[jobotic]

I think it's fairly clear that the English just don't really want water supply and wastewater management.

Love these takes.

I was under the impression that I'd never voted Tory in my life but I'm English so I must have done.

[Zetetic]

I, of course, don't think all the residents of that place have taken against water supply and wastewater management.

[BlodwynPig]

I, of course, don't think all the residents of that place have taken against water supply and wastewater management.

Trolio

[Buelligan]

Can't speak for Z, of course, but isn't he poking a bit of pokery at the way things are run?  Suggesting that the super way democracy harnessed to capitalism and decency operates does not serve the people? 

If you have a state shrugging when billions of litres of shit are released improperly, if the reason for doing it is money, money going to private shareholders, surely one must arch an eyebrow at the idea that the public will is being done?

[Zetetic]

No, although that is possibly a slightly more mature point.

[BlodwynPig]

I'm not in disagreement with Z's point. More of agreeing with it in an absurdist way.