United Utilities has been ordered to pay £964,225 in fines and costs following convictions on five environmental permit violations. The water company pleaded guilty to charges related to a pollution incident that occurred along the Fylde coast in June 2023, with Preston magistrates court issuing the penalty on Tuesday.
The discharge of raw sewage from three pumping stations at Manchester Square, Anchorsholme, and Chatsworth Avenue lasted more than 35 hours across several days. The contamination affected coastal communities in Blackpool, Lytham St Annes, Fleetwood, and Cleveleys. The Environment Agency issued bathing advisories for all eight designated bathing waters along the coastline, with modeling indicating that sewage reached seven of those locations and significantly degraded water quality. Summer visitor numbers to Blackpool declined by hundreds of thousands compared with the prior year, according to the Environment Agency.
Visible sewage appeared on beaches and at recreational facilities including Fleetwood baths, with testing confirming the presence of E coli. Health concerns led to the temporary closure of three shellfish beds. The incident originated from a partial collapse of a final effluent pipe at Fleetwood wastewater treatment works, which reduced the facility’s capacity. Following rainfall, the reduced capacity caused wastewater to back up through the network and discharge from the three pumping stations in violation of permit conditions.
The Environment Agency classified the incident as category one, its most serious designation. Officials determined that United Utilities had violated conditions specified in its environmental permits. The company’s leadership acknowledged responsibility, issuing apologies and stating that operations fell short of expected standards.
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