An engineering company has been ordered to pay £3,859 in fines and costs for allowing sewage to be discharged into a drainage ditch in Burnham-on-Sea.
Bridgwater Magistrates heard on Wednesday April 26th that Avent Engineering, of Chippenham, was digging a trench in October last year when a pipe was damaged in a field next to the B3140.
The court heard staff thought the liquid was groundwater and pumped it to the ditch rather than the field.
Environment Agency inquiries later revealed they did not check the water or carry out tests on the effluent.
Andrew King of the Environment Agency said: “Pumping excavation water direct to the banks of the rhyne (drainage ditch) was a deliberate act by site staff that contravened Avent company policy. If the effluent had been pumped into the field this incident would not have occurred.”
“The discharge of sewage effluent caused ammonia levels in the rhyne to rise. However, no fish were killed and there was no long-term damage.”
Avent Engineering of Bath Road Industrial Estate, Chippenham, Wiltshire, was fined £2,500 and ordered to pay £1,359 costs by Bridgwater magistrates. The company pleaded guilty to the charges.
