Southern Water fined £330,000 for stream pollution that killed 2,000 fish – The Guardian

‘A water company has been fined £330,000 after raw sewage escaped into a stream in Hampshire for up to 20 hours, killing about 2,000 fish including brown trout.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 27th February 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Defra’s failure to protect and restore water bodies ‘unlawful’, high court rules – The Guardian

‘The government and environment agency failed in their duty to restore and protect waterways from pollution, the high court has ruled in a significant case that could force an overhaul of the government’s plans.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 20th November 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Public could receive hundreds of millions as water firms face sewage lawsuit – The Guardian

‘The public could receive hundreds of millions of pounds in compensation in the first class action against water companies which are alleged to have failed to reveal the true scale of raw sewage discharges, and abused their position as privatised monopolies.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 9th August 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

UK legal group warns of information blackout on sewage discharges – The Guardian

Posted November 23rd, 2021 in disclosure, environmental health, news, waste, water, water companies by sally

‘A legal action group is warning there may be an information blackout on sewage discharges by water companies for years, after the Environment Agency announced an inquiry into more than 2,000 sites.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 22nd November 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Southern Water fined record £90m for dumping raw sewage – BBC News

Posted July 13th, 2021 in fines, news, pollution, waste, water, water companies by tracey

‘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.’

Full Story

BBC news, 10th July 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Southern Water denies deliberately dumping sewage in coastal waters – BBC News

Posted July 9th, 2021 in news, pollution, waste, water, water companies by tracey

‘Southern Water has denied deliberately dumping raw sewage into seas and rivers on thousands of occasions to avoid investing in its treatment works.’

Full Story

BBC News, 8th July 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Water Sellers – Nearly Legal

‘This was RB Kingston upon Thames’ appeal of the High Court’s finding that it was a “water reseller” under the Water Resale Orders 2001 and 2006, and thus not entitled to keep the additional funds it had recovered from the water rates paid by its tenants as part of the rent, though discounts and void allowances by Thames Water. This is significant because some 69 London councils and housing associations had entered the same or similar agreements with Thames Water, and would be liable to repay sums to their tenants for the relevant periods.’

Full Story

Nearly Legal, 15th November 2020

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Competition watchdog sides with water firms in row over plan to cut household bills – The Guardian

Posted September 30th, 2020 in competition, consumer protection, news, ombudsmen, water, water companies by sally

‘Britain’s competition watchdog has sided with water suppliers in a row over the regulator’s plan to reduce industry revenues in order to cut an average of £50 a year from water bills.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 29th September 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Coalition calls for new laws to end sewage discharges into UK waters – The Guardian

Posted September 30th, 2020 in bills, environmental protection, news, pollution, statistics, waste, water, water companies by sally

‘A coalition of river and sea organisations is calling for targets for water companies to reduce sewage discharges to be included in the upcoming environment bill.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 28th September 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

UK water companies ordered to cut bills by £50 by 2025 – The Guardian

Posted December 16th, 2019 in consumer protection, fees, news, water, water companies by tracey

‘Ofwat, the water regulator, has ordered water companies in England and Wales to cut bills for customers by £50 over five years and spend £51bn on improving services and investment in infrastructure.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 16th December 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Councils and housing associations “face multi-million pound refunds to tenants after water re-selling test case in High Court – Local Government Lawyer

‘Local authorities and housing associations could face having to refund millions of pounds to tenants after a council lost a test case in the High Court on water re-selling, it has been claimed.’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 2nd December 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Thames Water fined £120m over leaks – BBC News

Posted June 8th, 2018 in fines, news, water companies by sally

‘Thames Water has been ordered to pay out £120m to compensate customers over poor management of leaks.’

Full Story

BBC News, 7th June 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Water into gas should not go – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted February 5th, 2018 in appeals, compensation, energy, news, repairs, water, water companies by sally

‘When the supply of gas to your house fails, you are entitled to compensation from the gas undertaker for the inconvenience. If that failure has been caused by another utility’s burst water main, the gas undertaker may seek to recoup its expenses for repair to its own infrastructure and the compensation it has had to pay out to consumers. A simple enough picture.’

Full Story

UK Human Rights Blog, 3rd February 2018

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Alternative cremation option “on hold” – Law & Religion UK

Posted December 21st, 2017 in burials and cremation, news, regulations, water, water companies by tracey

‘On 18 December 2017 the BBC reported ‘Water cremation’ plans on hold over environmental fears following an earlier refusal* by Severn Trent Water to grant a trade effluent permit to Sandwell Council who wished to operate an alkaline hydrolysis plant (“resomation”) for the disposal of human remains.’

Full Story

Law & Religion UK, 21st December 2017

Source: www.lawandreligionuk.com

United Utilities fined £300,000 after water contamination scandal – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 11th, 2017 in contamination, fines, news, water, water companies by tracey

‘A water company has been fined £300,000 after admitting polluting the drinking water of more than 700,000 people.’

Full Story

Daily Telegraph, 10th October 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Northern Waters – Nearly Legal

Posted April 25th, 2017 in contracts, housing, local government, news, rent, service charges, water, water companies by sally

‘Rochdale BH is a social housing provider (of what was the council’s housing stock). The issue in this case – heard as a preliminary issue – was whether Rochdale BH was a water reseller under the terms of The Water Resale Order 2006 in that charges for water it made as a part of the rent.’

Full story

Nearly Legal, 23rd April 2017

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Thames Water fined £20m for sewage spill – BBC News

Posted March 23rd, 2017 in fines, news, pollution, sewerage, water companies by sally

‘Thames Water has been fined a record £20m after pumping nearly 1.5 billion litres of untreated sewage into the River Thames.’

Full story

BBC News, 22nd March 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Southern Water fined record £2m for sewage leak on Kent beaches – The Guardian

Posted December 20th, 2016 in fines, news, pollution, sewerage, water companies by sally

‘Southern Water has been fined a record £2m for flooding beaches in Kent with raw sewage, leaving them closed to the public for nine days.’

Full story

The Guardian, 19th December 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Off the scale: Sentencing very large companies for environmental crimes – Henderson Chambers

Posted July 27th, 2015 in environmental protection, news, pollution, sentencing, water companies by sally

‘Earlier this month judgment was handed down by the Court of Appeal in R v Thames Water Utilities Ltd [2015] EWCA Crim 960, examining what should be done when a corporate offender’s turnover is so large that it falls outside the scale set down in the sentencing guidelines. This is the first case of its kind to come before the Court of Appeal since publication of the Definitive Guideline for Environmental Offences by the Sentencing Council in July 2014. Rejecting Thames Water’s appeal against a £250,000 fine, the court said that fines levied against very large companies “had to bring home the appropriate message to the directors and shareholders of the company” and could go as high as 100% of pre-tax profits. ‘

Full story

Henderson Chambers, June 2015

Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk

Higher fines for repeated corporate convictions more likely following Thames Water judgment, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

‘ Companies repeatedly convicted of regulatory offences should expect fines to be in the millions of pounds following a string of recent court cases.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 22nd June 2015

Source: www.out-law.com