Scottish Water fined for valve failure
25 Oct 2016
Utility Scottish Water has been fined £7,500 for pollution of the Caaf Water and River Garnock, Kilmarnock Sheriff Court heard in August.
Scottish Water pleaded guilty to causing or permitting other persons to draw down the level of water in the Caaf reservoir through an inadequately monitored open valve, which resulted in the discharge of sediment laden water, containing a high level of suspended solids.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) carried out an investigation at the reservoir after receiving a number of complaints from members of the public about the discolouration of the Caaf Water.
SEPA contacted Scottish Water to close the valve draining the reservoir in order to stop any further polluting discharge, and reported the matter to the Procurator Fiscal.
“The Caaf Water and River Garnock are very popular with countryside enthusiasts including anglers. As a result of this incident, water heavily contaminated with sediment from the Caaf reservoir was introduced into these downstream watercourses at a concentration well beyond what would occur naturally. This pollution remained visible for several days,” said John McCabe, SEPA’s reporting officer.
“If Scottish Water had been monitoring the reservoir out of hours when the incident occurred, then it is likely the pollution to these rivers could have been prevented. Unfortunately, as Scottish Water had not taken this precaution, we were informed by the public and had to request the valve draining the reservoir to be closed after these watercourses had already been polluted,” McCabe added.
