Interserve Construction Limited (ICL) admitted to a single incident of discharging the polluted water into a tributary of the River Rother in Burwash, East Sussex, on 1st October 2014.

The construction company had been contracted to South East Water over an 18-month period at Crowhurst Bridge Water Treatment Works as it looked to improve the water company’s ability to manage water treatment.

However, the Environment Agency found a brown discharge downstream of the works after the appearance of discoloured water was reported to them by a member of the public.

Later investigations found that the river had been visibly but locally impacted on a temporary basis.

ICL stated that it was an isolated incident which lasted for 25 minutes during an 18-month period and there was no evidence that local wildlife had been adversely impacted.

Despite this, David Willis, environment manager at the Environment Agency, concluded: “We take these incidents very seriously and do everything within our powers to safeguard the environment and people that may be affected.”

Along with ICL’s £54,000 fine, it was also ordered to pay £5,955 in costs.