My local stretch of the River Tame, and United Utilities AGAIN!!!

Firm fined over fish-killing leak | Tameside Advertiser - menmedia.co.uk

POISONED RIVER... The River Tame where hundreds of fish died

A water company has been fined £24,000 after a chemical leak killed hundreds of fish.
United Utilities was taken to court following the leak from Buckton Castle water works in Mossley last June.
More than 200 brown trout died after bleach leaked from the water works into the River Tame.
Hundreds of other fish including chub, pike and minnows also perished.
Tameside magistrates heard how a one-mile stretch of river was affected after the bleach, which is used to treat the water, was accidentally released into the river network.
After pleading guilty, United Utilities was fined £24,000 and ordered to pay the Environment Agency £4,554 in costs.
Speaking after the court case, David Orr, for the Environment Agency, said: "We work hard with other organisations to protect and improve the water quality across the country.
"Incidents like this, which have a significant impact on the river, can – and should – be prevented.
"United Utilities use bleach on site as part of the treatment process and is fully aware of the risk of harm if it discharges into drains and watercourses."
A United Utilities spokesman said: "We take our environmental responsibilities very seriously and we sincerely regret this incident. We have co-operated closely with the Environment Agency and a number of improvements have now been completed at the treatment plant to prevent any reoccurrence.
"For example, the alarm system at the plant has been updated and we have also modified the site drainage system."
Jane Morgan, prosecuting, said the leak occurred when a tank containing chemicals overflowed into a protective pool and was then released into a surface water drain.
Workers mistakenly believed the liquid was destined for the sewer.
Ms Morgan said: "It was clearly very harmful to the environment. It has been classed a ‘category one’ and that is the most serious level of environmental impact."
Defending, John Barrett said: "This was a serious incident but it has to be put into context. The most serious cases must be the ones which expose human beings to a risk of harm. The next most serious must be the ones where there is a serious and very long-lasting impact on the environment.
"There are no indications that it has been of long term harm to the environment and there is no suggestion whatsoever of harm to human beings."
He added the company has since tightened safety precautions and has promised to restock the river with appropriate fish.

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It's about time that these fines were made pro rata to turnover - that's an appropriate fine for a company turning over hundreds of thousands a year. The fine for a company the size of united utilities should be big enough that shareholders demand blood at the next AGM.

That is not a fine... it is merely a fee!

richard

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Who resides on the right bank of the Derbyshire Wye and is lulled to sleep each night by the mutterings of a weir, dreaming that "When the rivers and their inhabitants come first, we ALL win..."

It's taking the right royal ****... That's confirmation my secret stretch is f***ed for a while! Had my very first river and fly outings on here and had the embarrassing moments out of the way (learning to wade and fish flowing water with out drowning a worm in the process... Thanks again United Utilities for the water bill and my dead river hideaway...
'Tw*ts'... make your own mind up...

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I was once pictured in The Advertiser stood in the river Tame by the police station in Stalybridge, holding a dead roach - I wonder who it was that time? Although I reported it to the authorities as well as the local rag, I don't think anyone was held to account for that one.