Welsh Water fined after sewage plant near Hereford breaches permit
Sewage treatment works treat raw sewage to produce an effluent which is discharged without damaging the local watercourse. At Clehonger, the water is discharged into the Cage Brook which is a tributary of the River Wye, the EA said.The EA said officers were alerted following routine sampling in November 2020.Mr Shipp said: "Incidents like this are preventable and are completely unacceptable, particularly at a time when the need to protect the water environment for wildlife and people has never been greater."Water companies are aware that their activities have the potential for serious environmental impacts, and they know that we will take action when they cause pollution."
A statement from Welsh Water said the company pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.It said: "The site was compliant with its permit before this period and it has been compliant since."It said the issue was caused by overloading at the works following new residential developments.The statement said: "We took what action we could to ensure improved capacity at the works was funded by the developers by appearing before a planning inspector to explain the impacts of the original proposal."We upgraded the wastewater treatment works at a cost that was £1million in excess of the funding received from the developers."
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