Water Company allowed to continue polluting protected Cumbrian river with sewage litter until October
An inadequate screen will allow sewage to litter the SAC-protected river Kent for another six months.
United Utilities, the UK’s third largest water company, has been given six months to install the necessary infrastructure to prevent sewage litter from being discharged unlawfully into the River Kent in Cumbria from an overflow at its Kendal Wastewater Treatment Works.
A screen to prevent items such as wet wipes and sanitary towels from entering the highly protected Special Area of Conservation (SAC) designated river is one of the conditions of the water company’s permit for the Kendal treatment works, but the screen installed by the water company, which made profits of £440million in 2022, falls below the required standard set out in its permit.
The fact that United Utilities are in breach of its permit was only disclosed by the EA in response to inquiries made by Fish Legal acting for the Kent (Westmorland) Angling Association.
Ian Carradus, President of Kent (Westmoreland) Angling Association said: “In February this year, I filmed a section of the river Kent showing hundreds of sanitary towels and condoms hanging from tree branches downstream of Kendal treatment works. This river is so precious to our club members and the local community, and it is heartbreaking to see it being treated in this way. It feels to us as though United Utilities do not see protecting the river as a priority and the Environment Agency are far too soft on water companies when it comes to forcing them to stop polluting.”
The river Kent is a highly protected Special Area of Conservation (SAC) designated river, and one of the conditions of the water company’s permit for the Kendal treatment works is a screen to prevent items such as wet wipes and sanitary towels from entering it. The Environment Agency (EA) has given United Utlities six months to install a compliant screen.
United Utilities is currently subject to an ongoing criminal investigation into potential widespread breaches of its wastewater treatment works permits. As a result, the EA has refused to confirm how many separate pollution incidents linked to the Kendal works are under investigation.
Penelope Gane, Head of Practice at Fish Legal, said: “This is not the first time that the Kent (Westmorland) Angling Association and Fish Legal has stepped in to question the lawfulness of sewage discharges from Kendal Wastewater Treatment Works. We brought a successful judicial review with the angling club in 2019 when Cumbria County Council failed to look at the environmental impacts of a ‘temporary’ sewage overfall at the works before granting it planning permission. United Utilities defended that claim but lost against the angling club in court.”
United Utilities estimates that the work will be completed by October 2023.
Penelope Gane added: “While in Westminster there are promises of urgent action to end river pollution, on the ground water companies are allowed a much more leisurely timetable to clean up their act. It is not good enough. Where pollution is identified and permit breaches are identified work to fix the problem needs to be done immediately.”