Water & Wastewater Treatment

www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | FEBRUARY 2015 | 5 Polluters pay Thames fined £100K for sewage discharge Thames Water has been fined £100,000 and ordered to pay £13,635 costs a er untreated sewage was discharged into Holmwood Stream, a tributary of the River Mole, in Surrey. The incident occurred in July 2012 when members of the public reported an unpleasant odour and dead fish in the stream, near Dorking. A subse- quent investigation by the Environ- ment Agency found that storm tanks at the Holmwood sewage treatment works were being routinely used as balancing tanks, meaning that staff fre- quently ignored the storm tank filling alarm. The storm tank discharge alarm was out of action at the time a er be- ing damaged in bad weather. During the incident, a blockage to an inlet chamber caused all incom- ing flows of sewage to divert to storm tanks and discharge to the water- course, and 60 fish died in the stream as a result of the toxicity of the waste. NI man fined for water meter tampering In the first case of its kind in Northern Ireland, a man has been fined £500 for two offences in relation to tampering with water meters owned by NI Water. Gerry McCaughey was also ordered to pay repair costs and will receive back bills for up to six years' water charges a er a meter was interfered with at a farm owned by McCaughey at Finder- more Road, Clogher. Anglers secure £10K payout from Southern Southern Water has paid £10,000 in compensation to a Kent angling club, the Tenterden and District Angling and Preservation Association, in relation to ammonia and sewage pollution in the New Mill Channel, near Tenterden, in 2011. The payout was negotiated by membership organisation Fish Legal. Fracking ban near aquifers 'is common sense' Efra chair to judge 'water oscars' Efra chair Anne McIntosh MP will be among the ex- perts deciding the winners for this year's Water Indus- try Achievement Awards, which will be presented in April. The awards are judged annually by people of in- fluence within the UK water sector, and this year's panel is no exception. In addition to McIntosh, this year's judges include Policy Consulting Network director Phillip Mills; SBWWI CEO Paul Horton; Prof Elise Cart- mell, head at Cranfield Wa- A proposed amendment to the Infrastructure Bill by the Labour Party that would ban fracking near aquifers has been described as 'basic common sense' by environ- mental campaigners. The amendment, by Labour MP Tom Greatrex, calls for a new clause to be inserted in the Bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament. The proposed clause states: "The carrying out of hydrau- lic fracturing in connection with the exploitation of un- conventional petroleum in relevant land shall be pro- hibited. In subsection (5A) "relevant land" means land which is located within the boundary of a groundwater source protection zone as specified by the Environ- ment Agency from time to time." Greenpeace UK energy campaigner Simon Clydes- dale said: "The government clings on to the fig leaf of its supposedly world-class fracking regulations, yet there's nothing in the cur- VOX POP "If issues remain for local residents, I would be happy to meet my honourable friend to discuss them." Water minister Dan Rogerson on odour issues at Mogden Sewage Treatment Works "The water tasted as good as any I've had out of a bottle. I would happily drink it every day." Microso co- founder Bill Gates on an Omni- Processor for making drinking water out of recycled sewage "We've fantastic people across our company who are passionate about delivering great service round the clock." Claire Sharp, the new Customer Director at Northumbrian Water ter Science Institute; Chris Hoggart, chair of the EIC's Water Management Work- ing Group; Rupert Kruger, head of innovation at Thames Water; Steve Kaye, head of innovation at An- glian Water; and Isle Utili- ties senior consultant Karen Clode. The awards will recog- nise excellence in 13 cat- egories, with initiatives, pro- jects or technologies judged on their forward thinking, best practice and concrete results. The winners will be an- nounced at a gala dinner and awards ceremony at the Hilton Birmingham Metro- pole on April 21. rent rules to stop energy firms drilling near our pre- cious sources of drinking water. Labour's proposal to ban fracking close to aqui- fers is a matter of such basic common sense that it's hard to see what excuse ministers could come up with to op- pose it. "But no party should be under the illusion that we can regulate away all the risks fracking poses to both our environment and our climate." Friends of the Earth cli- mate and energy campaign- er Donna Hume added: "La- bour's call for a ban on fracking near aquifers and for other safeguards is the right one – it is basic com- mon sense to not risk Brit- ain's drinking water. While Labour's set of proposals is a welcome break from the government's gung-ho pur- suit of controversial fracking whatever the cost, the truth is that any fracking is highly risky for people's health and the environment and has no place in any community."

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