Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has been awarded 300,000 by Yorkshire Water after a 2018 sewage discharge caused pollution in Leeds.
Unauthorized sewage discharges from Garforth Storm Tanks by the company led to a pollution incident at Kippax Beck. This violation of the company’s environmental permit was a breach.
Yorkshire Water submitted an Enforcement Undertaking (EA) to the Environment Agency. This has been accepted.
An Enforcement Undertaking can be a voluntary offer by individuals or companies to make amends.
Garforth Storm Tanks
Garforth Storm Tanks’ sewage flows are controlled by an automated valve. This valve controls and isolates the sewage. During heavy rain, the tanks will fill.
If the valve closes completely, it means that all sewage or rainfall is diverted to the storm tank and an alarm alerts Yorkshire Water. Level sensors and alarms are used to monitor the storm tank’s sewage levels.
Yorkshire Water was alerted by the Environment Agency on 17 November 2018 to discolored water at Kippax Beck. The company investigated and found that the valve was completely closed. This meant that the storm tanks were full and were leaking into a nearby watercourse.
The system appeared to be working as normal, with neither the storm tank sewage alarm nor the valve alarm activating. To prevent further discharge, the valve was manually opened.
The impact was large and appeared to have affected beck and wildlife for 3.3km.
Effective enforcement option
Ben Hocking is the Area Environment Manager.
Companies that fail to fulfill their environmental obligations are a serious matter.
Enforcement Undertakings can be used to enforce companies’ rights and help to improve the environment.
The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust will benefit greatly from the 300,000 payment.
Yorkshire Water’s offering details how it has taken steps for improvements, including replacing and fixing machinery, reviewing alarms, and carrying out an environmental survey.
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust will use your donation to fund a number of projects at nature reserves in Lower Aire valley.
Enforcement Undertakings are just one of the many enforcement options available to Environment Agency.
The Environment Agency has collected water company court fines in excess of 137million since 2015. Yorkshire Water was recently fined 233,000 at Leeds Crown Court in January 2022 for a pollution accident at Tong Beck, which occurred in November 2017. Sheffield Magistrates Court also fined them 150,000 for a pollution accident at Potteric Carr Nature Reserve on September 8th 2021.
