It comes after United Utilities released the fish while conducting a scour valve test on High Rid Reservoir
United Utilities released the fish while conducting a scour valve test on High Rid Reservoir(Image: Google Maps)
United Utilities has been fined £60,000 for illegally releasing over 30,000 fish into Bessy Book in Bolton – resulting in the deaths of more than 16,000 fish.
The water company pleaded guilty to the offence of failing to obtain a permit to release fish into inland waters today, April 10. As well as the fine, the utility firm will be made to pay a £2,000 victim surcharge and £24,098.06 in costs for the offence.
It comes after United Utilities released the fish while conducting a scour valve test on High Rid Reservoir. This stranded them in the too small and unsuitable environment of Bessy Brook, with fatal consequences for more than 16,000 fish, the Environment Agency says.
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The high-speed discharge of the scour valve test killed or injured many of the fish, with some bodies found embedded in bridge walls approximately two feet above the water’s surface. Others had missing scales and protruding organs.
The water company quickly brought in a contractor to rescue the surviving fish and about 18,000 fish were returned to High Rid Reservoir.
Andy Brown, the Environment Agency’s water industry regulation manager for the North West, said: “With this regulatory first, we are letting water companies know they must abide by all legislative requirements.
“The Environment Agency expects full compliance from water companies and are committed to taking robust enforcement action when we see breaches like this.
“United Utilities Water Limited has now paid the price for failing to obtain all relevant permits, while our hard-working officers will continue to do all they can to prevent future harm to the environment.”
Environment Agency officers attended Bessy Brook on December 13, 2024, after receiving reports of dead fish in the area. Photographic and video evidence as well as water samples were taken and used to establish there were no pollutants in Bessy Brook.
United Utilities Water Limited said it believed a large school of roach may have entered the scour pipework in response to threat from birds looking to feed.
The court heard in mitigation the steps that United Utilities Water Limited had taken to prevent this from happening again and confirmed that a subsequent scour valve test had been successfully completed.
They also explained a voluntary donation of £500,000 had been given to Groundwork Greater Manchester for proposed work to Middle Brook Restoration.
However, the Environment Agency said the water company did not have a permit to introduce fish in such numbers to the downstream watercourse. The introduction of 34,000 fish met the criteria for ‘Category 2’ harm, meaning there was a ‘significant adverse impact on animal health’.
Water Minister Emma Hardy said: “This incident by United Utilities is shocking and should never have happened in the first place. The company has to be held responsible for its actions and this £60,000 fine does exactly that.
“Our reforms will create a new stronger regulator for the industry, with powers to do MOT-style checks on water assets, preventing failures like these from happening.”