When Steve Beech, who has fished the River Dane for more than 30 years, arranged to do a photo-shoot with the Anglers Mail on the River Dane in September 2005, he was expecting to showcase the river’s prime barbel and chub fishing.
However, this was also the day when United Utilities discharged untreated sewage into the River from its pumping station in Middlewich.
Steve and the photo-journalist were met by the unexpected sight of a few dead fish and a strange milky tint to the water: the prelude to an environmental disaster. As the day wore on, it was clear that thousands of fish – including barbel up to 8lbs in weight – had been wiped out.
The Agency eventually prosecuted United Utilities and the company was fined for polluting the river in breach of its discharge consent.
Steve is a longstanding member of the Anglers’ Conservation Association and his club is also a member of the ACA. Following the Environment Agency’s successful prosecution, the ACA’s in house legal team followed up with a civil claim on behalf of Steve’s club, the Winsford and District Anglers’ Association. United Utilities – which has an operating profit £827.5 million during fiscal year March 2007 – seemed unwilling to settle, and so the ACA was forced to issue proceedings at court. Faced with the prospect of a trial, the company eventually agreed to pay £5,000 to the club. The money will be used to help restore the river.
Steve Beech said: “it will take years for this special river to recover after this incident, which killed many specimen fish and affected all the wildlife in the river. We are very grateful to the ACA for helping us get the water company to pay up for the damage it caused.”
Mark Lloyd, Executive Director of the ACA said, “this is one of many cases which the ACA is fighting against United Utilities on behalf of our members in the North West. We call on this company to demonstrate more responsibility for the water environment and not to fight requests for compensation when it pollutes rivers which have been looked after lovingly by our members for decades.”
The ACA is currently fighting four other cases against this company:
In the North West, the Rochdale & District Anglers’ fishery has suffered inundations of chlorinated water and silt from Buersil Reservoir over several years. The utility has denied that it was to blame and the ACA has had no alternative but to pursue the matter at court.
A short distance away in Chorley, the Common Bank Angling Club suffered several sewage pollutions in March 2006 when the water company allowed untreated sewage to enter a stream feeding into its fishing lake, in breach of its consent, causing the death of many fish. The utility denied that it was liable – even suggesting that it was within the terms of its consent to discharge, despite receiving a letter of warning from the Environment Agency stating that it had broken the law.
In August 2006, the water utility – which had been contracted to run the water treatment works at Pontsticill in Wales by Dwr Cymru – allowed aluminium sulphate used in water treatment to spill into the Taf Fechan river. This corrosive chemical wiped-out the fish and invertebrate populations for several miles. The ACA is currently preparing a civil claim for issue at court against the utility on behalf of the Merthyr Tydfil Angling Association.
The ACA is also pursuing a case against the utility after a sewage pipe-bridge over the River Eamont burst and raw sewage from Penrith poured into the river for at least 36 hours. The ACA has served court proceedings on the company on behalf of the Yorkshire Fly-Fishers’ Club and the Penrith Angling Association and is due in Court in December.
