STORY
Anglian Water has been fined £1.6 million following repeated sewage pollution of the River Brain in Essex between 13 April and 2 June 2022. The pollution affected nearly 14km of river between Braintree and Witham. At Cambridge Magistrates’ Court on 14 October 2026, District Judge Timothy King also ordered the company to pay £27,334 in costs and a £190 surcharge.
Environment Agency investigators traced the pollution to Braintree water recycling centre, where a faulty valve allowed sludge to enter the river, producing high ammonia levels. Monitoring recorded the highest concentrations of toxic ammonia detected in the river for a decade. The court heard that warning alarms were ignored and staff failed to communicate about the incidents.
The Environment Agency described the incidents as an organisational failure to recognise risks and act on warning signs. Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle said the company had been too slow to respond. The prosecution concerned a sewage discharge outside the treatment centre’s environmental permit and a separate offence of failing to comply with that permit