United Utilities fined £800,000 for taking too much water out of ground

This caused additional stress on the environment during a period of very dry weather in 2018, leading to a significant decline in the water level available in the Fylde Aquifer. The case was brought after an investigation by the Environment Agency revealed the business had taken more water than allowed by five of their abstraction licences in the Franklaw and Broughton Borehole Complex.  

Responding to the news, the Environment Agency’s area director for Lancashire Carol Holt said: “Our priority is to ensure clean and plentiful water for people, the economy and the environment in England and we welcome the sentencing which exposes unacceptable practices from United Utilities Water Limited over a prolonged period of time. 

“While water companies are allowed to abstract water from the environment, over abstraction, especially during times of prolonged dry weather, has damaging impacts to our environment. Our actions as regulator have led to the sentencing and we will continue to strive for a better water sector across the country to protect our precious water supplies now, and for the future.  

“We are transforming our approach to regulation, holding the water industry to account and working with water companies such as United Utilities Water Limited to help them improve.” 

In response, Grant Batty – water services director at United Utilities – told Credit Strategy: “We apologised for the breach in water abstraction that happened five years ago in 2018. We did not exceed the amount of water we could abstract on a daily and yearly basis, but we did inadvertently breach a three year rolling limit on the abstraction licence.

“As soon as we discovered this, we established additional controls to ensure it never happens again. We took action straight away, pleaded guilty and also made a £3m voluntary contribution to local environmental improvement projects.”