Anglian Water has been ordered to pay more than £50,000 for failing to provide records to the Environment Agency when requested.
The company was sentenced at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on July 5 after being convicted on May 24.
It failed, without reasonable excuse, to comply with a requirement to provide records to the Environment Agency between January 2022 and January 2202. The order includes a £25,000 fine, £190 victim surcharge and £25,000 in costs.
It is the first conviction of its kind against a water company and, according to the Environment Agency, sets a precedent for the regulation of non-compliant companies.
Anglian Water had entered a not guilty plea to the charge, claiming it had a reasonable excuse for non-compliance. District Judge Kenneth Sheraton rejected the claim.
It was fined £25,000 with £25,000 in costs and the £190 victim surcharge.
The case arose out of a wider investigation involving ten water companies and potential non-compliance issues.
“The Environment Agency hopes the sentence will help the regulator to bring all water companies into compliance and reduce environmental pollution,” said a statement.
The water company said it was ‘disappointed’ with the result, but added it had been found not guilty of ‘two more serious charges’ of failing to provide data.
“Anglian Water has always maintained, and the judge concurred, that our course of action and time taken to respond with data to the Environment Agency was reasonable,” said a spokesman.
“This was reflected in the fact that we were found not guilty of the two main charges,” they added.
“While we are disappointed with the finding in relation to the first charge, the low level of sentence reflects our view that this was not a significant failure on our part.”
