Water company fined £330,000

A water company was fined £330,000 after raw sewage escaped into a stream near Southampton for what the company admitted could have been nearly 20 hours.  An investigation by the Environment Agency found that relay equipment at a pumping station had been wrongly programmed. This led to a pump failing. When a second one would not start, sewage and other hazardous substances were diverted up through two manholes, across fields and into the stream.  The discharge resulted in a significant fish kill and the temporary closure of a water sports centre.