Southern Water to face sentencing for sewage spills
BBCSouthern Water is set to be sentenced for dumping sewage off the Kent coast.
The company pleaded guilty last April to 13 offences over illegal discharges at Margate and Broadstairs wastewater pumping stations between 2019 and 2021.
During that period, a number of beaches in Thanet had to be shut for several days, closures which were described as "hugely damaging" to the local economy and tourism.
A two-day hearing began at Canterbury Crown Court (CCC) on Thursday and the judge is expected to pass sentence on Friday.
CCC heard that nine counts against the water company related to incidents of untreated sewage being dumped, while three concerned failures to notify authorities as soon as practicable, which is a condition of its environmental permit.
A final conviction was for failing to have a standby pump at Margate's station between 27 July 2019 and 4 October 2020 - another breach of its permit.
Details of the offences included an intermittent flow of sewage on 20 July 2019 at the Margate site that lasted from around 02:00 BST to just before midnight.
The Environment Agency, which brought the prosecution, was not notified until more than 32 hours after the first discharge.
Elsewhere, on 16 February 2021 at the Broadstairs wastewater station, the court heard untreated sewage was dumped into the sea due to a computer control fault.
It lasted for nearly five hours, with the notification to authorities coming at the end of the discharge.
Prosecutor Andrew Marshall also said some of the sewage was "unscreened" – meaning it still contained solid waste – and that a lot of debris had washed up on the coast.
In June that year, 11 beaches in Thanet had to be closed for a week, with the district council declaring it a "high profile pollution incident".
Marshall said tourism was a "major industry" in the area, with 20% of employment related to it.
Thanet District Council's director of environment Michael Humber added that it had been "particularly negatively impactful".
Defending Southern Water, Dominic Kay said there had been new leadership at the company since 2022 and it had been rebuilt around accountability.
He added that £38m had been spent on Margate's station, including "cutting-edge technology" to prevent these sorts of incidents happening.
The sentencing continues.
Additional reporting by PA Media
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