More than half a million pounds is set to be put towards improving rivers in Tameside – after United Utilities was forced to pay for ‘substantial’ sewage leaks in Ashton.
The Environment Agency has secured £517,000 from the company after three separate incidents of sewage leaks at the Ashton-under-Lyne wastewater treatment works in 2022.
A water sample taken in the August of that year found that the levels of iron and solids “very significantly exceeded” those permitted by the Environment Agency.
The Agency limits solids in water to 30mg per litre, and iron levels to 8mg.
In contrast, the water flowing from Ashton’s treatment works had 940mg of solids, and 32.2mg of iron.
An investigation revealed that heavy rainfall caused a “substantial amount” of sludge to pass into one of the tanks at the treatment works, which was later found to have a leak. The contaminated water was then discharged into the River Tame.
The tank has now been fixed, but United Utilities has been forced to pay following the damage, and have now promised to pay for the Environment Agency’s investigation costs.
It comes as part of a wider crackdown on water companies across the UK, with a record £8.5 million paid into environmental restoration projects across the country due to pollution or poor performance.
There were more than 10,000 inspections of water company facilities across the UK, with 1,855 of these owned by United Utilities.
These were to check that all facilities were in working order, and that companies were operating as they should be.
The £517,000 payout will now be put towards the Mersey Rivers Trust to improve the environmental health of rivers in Tameside, in what is known as an enforcement undertaking.
An enforcement undertaking is a legal agreement between the Environment Agency and environmental companies, where companies who break rules are forced to take steps to prevent these same offences from happening again.
They must also make a payment to an environmental charity to make improvements to the affected area, which means work can be carried out without waiting for lengthy court proceedings to finish.
Andy Brown, Environment Agency Water Industry Regulation Manager said: “Water companies must be held to account, and we will continue to prosecute the most serious offenders, but enforcement undertakings allow companies to correct their wrongdoings and put money straight back into environmental recovery.
“This £517,000 will be invested in Tameside and help deliver real benefits for residents and wildlife.
“We are continuing to drive meaningful improvements in water company performance, clean up the waterways and crackdown on persistent offenders.”