Press Notice - 5 January 1999
Anglian Water pleads guilty to charges of supplying water unfit for human consumption
Anglian Water today pleaded guilty to supplying water unfit for human consumption. They were fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £4,800 towards prosecution costs.
The incident involved the supply of discoloured water to the town of Halstead in Essex in December 1997. The charges brought under Section 70 of the Water Industry Act 1991 were heard at Witham Magistrates Court.
Michael Rouse Chief Inspector of the Drinking water Inspectorate said:
"I am very pleased to see that Anglian pleaded guilty. As guardians of drinking water quality, DWI will continue to consider prosecution in all cases in which consumers have received water which they regard as unfit for human consumption."
Notes for Editors
1. The prosecution follows an investigation by the Drinking Water Inspectorate of an incident involving the supply of discoloured water to Halstead on 15 and 16 December 1997.
2. Section 70 of the Water Industry Act makes it a criminal offence for a water company to supply water which is unfit for human consumption. The Inspectorate investigates all drinking water quality incidents and can bring prosecutions in the names of either the Secretary of State for Environment, Transport and Regions or the Secretary of State for Wales. DWI will bring prosecutions if it believes that it has evidence that water unfit for human consumption was supplied, if it believes that the company does not have a defence that it took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence and if such a prosecution is regarded as being in the public interest.
3. The incident was caused when the Company increased the flow from Does Corner water treatment works on 15 December, using a new emergency cross connection. The increased flow disturbed sediments in the main from Does Corner to Halstead and as a result discoloured water was supplied. The increase in flow was considered necessary because the level in Parkfield service reservoir, which supplies Halstead, was getting low. The low level in Parkfield reservoir first came to the Company's attention on Friday 12 December and over the weekend the Company investigated possible sources of increased demand, such as bursts, within Halstead town but it found no evidence of increased demand. However the Company did not investigate possible increased demand in the area supplied by Parkfield tower because the level in the tower had not fallen. Parkfield tower is fed by the reservoir and if the Company had examined its flow data closely it would have seen that increased pumping to the tower was lowering the level in the reservoir. It only noticed this trend after the increase from Does Corner had been made and it was not until 16 December that it investigated the area supplied by the tower and found a burst on that system. Once the burst was repaired the level recovered to normal. The Inspectorate considered that if the company had more diligently investigated the cause of the low level there would have been no need to increase the flow from Does Corner and hence the incident would not have happened. The Company is in the process of improving its flow monitoring arrangements in the area which will significantly reduce the risk of a recurrence.
4. The discolouration was at its worst for about one day, from 15 to 16 December, when about 200 complaints were received. The Inspectorate interviewed a number of affected consumers whose descriptions of the water included 'jet black' and 'muddy' and one consumer thought it resembled 'Coke'. The discolouration was caused by iron and manganese deposits. Consumers rejected the water on the grounds of its appearance and it is unlikely that there was any risk to health.
5. The Drinking Water Inspectorate was set up in January 1990 its main task is to check that water companies in England and Wales supply wholesome water and comply with the requirements of the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations.
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Published 15 September 1999 / Updated 11 July 2001
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