Thames Water Fined £3.33m For Raw Sewage River Pollution
Sewage Pollution Flowing Out Of A Pipe

The UK’s largest water and wastewater management company, Thames Water, have been fined £3.33m for a raw sewage spill in Surrey and Sussex that killed thousands of fish. 

The incident occurred near Gatwick Airport in October 2017, when millions of tonnes of raw sewage were released from a wastewater treatment plant into the River Mole in Surrey and Gatwick Stream in Sussex. An incorrectly activated storm pump was left unchecked for 21 hours, allowing it to fill up and release the undiluted sewage into the waterways. 

This should have been a contingency procedure after a heavy storm, but at the time of the incident there had been no significant rainfall. Untreated effluent was allowed to pour into the rivers for six hours before any action was taken by Thames Water staff. 

An investigation by the Environment Agency found evidence that 1,400 fish had died as a direct result of the pollution, but it believes that the true number is several thousand higher than this, including pikes, roaches, chub, bream, and perch, and protected species such as brown trout and European eel.

The Environment Agency found that several opportunities to prevent or mitigate agianst the worst effects of the spillage were missed. The storm drain was undersized, meaning it filled up more quickly, and when the alarm was finally raised the lead technician could not be contacted because he was awaiting a new phone.

The company came in for some strong criticism from Judge Christine Laing at the hearing in July at Lewes Crown Court. She said that Thames Water deliberately misled the Environment Agency during its investigation, and found the lack of preventative action “utterly extraordinary.”

Jamie Lloyd, a senior environment officer at the Environment Agency and who led the investigation, said: “Thames Water missed several opportunities to prevent this pollution incident from occurring. Staff appear to have been oblivious to malfunctions at the sewage treatment works leading up to it and did nothing to intervene.”

He added: “When the alarm was raised, no decisive action was taken until the damage was done. Thames Water failed to take responsibility for the incident until several years later – and didn’t provide vital information when requested by the Environment Agency during our investigation.”

“We brought this case due to the major environmental impact caused, and because it was entirely avoidable. Thames Water failed to have adequate systems in place to manage the pollution-risk from their site and didn’t respond to alarms.”

Meanwhile, contingency plans are being drawn up amidst reports that Thames Water is on the verge of financial collapse. The Guardian reports that the water regulator Ofwat and the government are holding discussions about temporarily returning the company to public ownership. 

The company has debts of around £14bn, and has been fined £35.7m for multiple pollution incidents between 2017 and 2023. 

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MATT BEVERLEY

A time served Mechanical engineer Matt’s background includes many high-profile projects within the Automotive Industry: The Rolls Royce Phantom, Rolls Royce Cullinan, Spyker Le-Mans racing teams, Bentley, Aston Martin, and Airbus A380. This history and knowledge of complex manufacturing and engineering projects have been transferred and further developed into the bulk material handling sector. Matt has work in Europe, North America, Indonesia, and China

He joined the bulk solids and bulk handling industry in 2019 as Managing Director of Hoverdale UK Ltd and subsequently completed a Management buyout in July 2020. The business has grown yearly, increased employment, its customer base, and worldwide reputation, and disrupted the market with groundbreaking innovative technology. Since Matt took over Hoverdale, the company has filed four patents for innovation; one was granted in 2023 for a design to improve bulk handling. The success had been driven by delivering tailored solutions to the waste recycling sectors that keep material flowing out and money flowing in.

Awards Include

  • 2024 – Shapa company of the Year
  • 2024- Shapa Innovation in Technology
  • 2024- MHEA Engineer of the year
  • 2021 – MHEA Innovation of the year
  • 2021- IMechE Innovation award

Current Positions Include.

  • Group Chairman Hoverdale UK Ltd
  • President (MHEA) Material Handling Engineers Association
  • Vice Chairman: IMechE Bulk Material Handling Committee
  • Council Member: (SHAPA) Solids Handling & Particle Association
  • Member: Chartered Management Institute

Matt has been happily married to Julie for 22 years and has 4 children, 3 of which are involved within the Hoverdale group of companies. He is an RFU level 2 qualified coach and referee having been in several head coaching roles at various age groups from under 6’s to adults for his local team Nuneaton RFC. He believes in the core values that rugby teaches of Teamwork, Respect, Enjoyment, Discipline, Sportsmanship and try’s to carry this through in his day to day business activities. He is passionate at brining the next generation of young, diverse engineers into the sector through promotion of apprenticeship scheme and further education routes.

DAVID BARTER

David is an experienced leader, with a background covering Operations, eCommerce, Finance, Compliance, HR and IT. His career spans Banking, Retail and Engineering, spending the majority of his career working for ALDI as they grew to become 4th largest supermarket in the UK, including seven years on their UK board as Managing Director of IT and eCommerce.

David joined Hoverdale’s Senior Management Team in 2023 to seek a fresh challenge in a completely different industry sector. He has applied his approach to Process Improvement, Efficiency, Customer Service and Teamwork to great effect during Hoverdale’s sustained growth.

Married to Jane, with three adult sons between them, David volunteers on the board of the Nottingham Playhouse theatre as well as his local rugby and football clubs. Any spare time he spends enjoying walks with their Golden Retriever, Buzz, who is also regularly seen in the Hoverdale office.

BEN DUCHESNE

Ben is a time serviced field service engineer in the busy waste and recycling sector, who’s career moved into to managing service teams and beyond. Originally beginning his career with a HGV repair and maintenance apprenticeship with IVECO, from there travelling and working in multiple countries moving towards waste processing shredders.

Ben joined the Hoverdale team in September 2024 seeking to apply his extensive knowledge to a new area. His values and ethics fit perfectly within the Hoverdale ethos.

He is happily married to Kristina, with 4 wonderful young children; 14, 11, 8 and 5. We the children he doesn’t get much spare time. He is a family man, who enjoys spending as much time with them as possible.