Southern Water incurred a fine exceeding £7 million at Canterbury Crown Court for unlawfully discharging sewage off the Kent coast, leading to significant harm to local wildlife and tourism. The company, accused of causing harm through a series of repeated incidents over multiple years, admitted to 13 offenses at Medway Magistrates’ Court last April related to sewage discharges at Margate and Broadstairs wastewater pumping stations between 2019 and 2021.
During the sentencing hearing spanning two days, it was revealed that some of the sewage pumped into the waters was “unscreened,” meaning it contained solid waste. Nine of the charges were linked to the discharge of untreated sewage off the Kent coast, while three were for failing to promptly notify authorities of the discharges within 24 hours of a warning, as mandated by its environmental permit.
Additionally, the company was convicted of not having a standby pump at Margate’s station between July 27, 2019, and October 4, 2020, violating its permit terms. The sentencing at Canterbury Crown Court unfolded over Thursday and Friday, resulting in a total fine of £7,127,083 imposed by Mr. Justice Johnson. This penalty follows a previous £90 million fine imposed on the company for nearly 7,000 incidents in Hampshire, Kent, and Sussex in a case brought by the Environment Agency in 2021.