Thames Water stung with £3.3 million fine for pumping 'millions of litres' of raw sewage into Gatwick rivers

Beleaguered utility giant Thames Water has been hit with a £3.3 million fine after it admitted pumping “millions of litres” of undiluted sewage was pumped into rivers near Gatwick Airport.

In a two-day sentencing hearing at Lewes Crown Court, Thames Water's behaviour was described as "reckless", after the company earlier pleaded guilty four charges relating to illegally discharging waste in October 2017.

The court heard the offending involved a “significant and lengthy” period of polluting the Gatwick Stream and River Mole - between Crawley in West Sussex and Horley in Surrey.

Judge Christine Laing KC said on Tuesday (4 July) that said she believed Thames Water had shown a “deliberate attempt” to mislead the Environment Agency over the incident, such as by omitting water readings and submitting a report to the regulator denying responsibility.

Thames Water denied this, instead telling the court the incident came after “significant errors were made”, PA reports. The court heard how a storm pump activated unexpectedly and started filling up the storm tank - despite no substantial rainfall - for 21 hours which went unnoticed.

On 11 October, 2017, the pump then began spilling the sewage into the river for an estimated six hours. When eventually an alarm was heard, the lead technician was uncontactable as they were awaiting a new mobile phone, Thames Water claimed.

Judge Laing said she found it “utterly extraordinary” that environmental disasters of this scale could happen because of this kind of issue. Addressing the water company, which has had 20 previous fines for pollution spillage, she added: “They should have put in every effort into tidying up the problem areas.”

This penalty comes as the utility company, which serves 15 million households across London and the Thames Valley, faces concerns over its future - as it faces more than £14bn in debt.

Thames Water’s CEO Sarah Bentley last week stepped down from the position and forfeited her bonus, due to the company’s environmental performance.