Anglian Water Services Ltd has been ordered to pay over £50,000 for failing, without reasonable excuse, to comply with a requirement to provide records by the Environment Agency. The order includes a £25,000 fine, £190 victim surcharge and £25,000 in costs.
Sentencing took place today (5 July 2024) at Peterborough Magistrates' Court after the water company was convicted on 24 May 2024.
This is the first conviction of its kind by the Environment Agency against a water company and sets a precedent for the regulation of non-compliant companies.
Since launching the investigation into Anglian Water Service Ltd's compliance, the Environment Agency has served several statutory requirements for records on the company. Anglian Water Services Ltd has been convicted of failing, without reasonable excuse, to respond to one of these notices, served between dates in January 2022 and January 2023.
Anglian Water Services Ltd had entered a not guilty plea to the charge, claiming that they had a reasonable excuse for non-compliance. Having heard the evidence in the case, District Judge Kenneth Sheraton rejected the water company's claim.
The case against Anglian Water Services Ltd arose out of a wider criminal investigation involving all ten English water companies looking into potential non-compliance with environmental permit conditions at over 2,000 wastewater treatment works.
The Environment Agency hopes that today's sentence will help the regulator to bring all water companies into compliance and reduce environmental pollution.
