News
South West Water Under Fire For Serious Pollution Incident
Supplier South West Water has offered to make an Enforcement Undertaking payment of £350,000 after causing a serious pollution incident in a Devon river that saw a local fish population wiped out.
In 2016, the Environment Agency was called out to reports of dead fish in the Tamerton stream in Plymouth, with the pollution traced back to an overflowing manhole on the supplier’s combined sewer network.
More than 100 brown trout were killed as a result, found downstream near Tamerton Foliot which is close to where the stream enters the Tavy estuary.
This estuary is a sensitive watercourse, with designations that include a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a Special Area of Conservation and a Special Protection Area.
The money has now been accepted by the Environment Agency as an alternative to prosecution, with the Westcountry Rivers Trust using it to restore fish numbers, while paying for a community engagement programme to raise awareness of the problem of pollution on Plymouth’s urban streams.
“The Tamerton Stream has suffered several pollution incidents over the past five years. It is good to see a positive outcome from what was serious pollution of a local stream. South West Water has since cleansed the main sewer line that runs through the woods and this should help reduce the likelihood of any further pollution,” the agency’s Mike Ingman commented.
As heartening as it is to hear that this pollution incident has been cleared up, news such as this could be just the inspiration you’ve been looking for to switch water supplier.
If you’re unhappy with your supplier for whatever reason, whether it’s their pollution rate or simply the service you’re receiving, you and your business are now able to switch thanks to the deregulation of the English water retail market, which took place in 2017.
Up until April 2017, businesses had no choice but to have their water supplied by a local company. But now you’re free to make your own decisions in this regard, with all sorts of new suppliers now entering the market.
But it can be difficult to navigate your way through the market if you’ve never chosen your water supplier before – which is why it can be useful to enlist the help of an experienced water consultancy firm such as H2o Building Services.
It may not be immediately obvious which supplier will offer you the best deal and best service and there are lots of new retail companies appearing now keen to take advantage of the new opportunities.
What we will look for on your behalf includes billing and payment arrangements, service level agreements and full details of tariffs and charges for fresh water supply and wastewater disposal. Get in touch with us today to find out more.