If untreated sewage is allowed to spill into rivers, streams, bays and other waterways from Sewage Treatment Works (STWs), water companies can expect to be fined if a case is brought against them by the Environment Agency – a UK government agency concerned mainly with rivers, flooding and pollution.

A common cause of sewage spillage at STW pumping stations and other water treatment facilities is pump failure. In such circumstances pump hire companies can aid water companies by responding to emergency call-outs quickly and efficiently. Formulating a contingency plan with a pump rental firm is the key to avoiding sewage spillage catastrophes, and also large fines.

Fines are common

According to the ultility.co.uk website, a water company in southern England was ordered to pay fines and costs totalling £7,200 in August 2011. The amount of the fine is typical in England and Wales and was given by the local Magistrates' Court for allowing sewage to discharge into a stream. The discharge occurred due to a pump failure at a pumping station in the region – an incident that the court deemed avoidable had the pumping station been effectively maintained.

However, water companies have been known to have been fined as much as £30,000 in the past for untreated sewage to enter a waterway. Repeated illegal discharges of untreated sewage can result in a water company being fined as much as £150,000 by the Environment Agency. Court costs would also need to be met on top of this huge sum.

The harm untreated sewage can do

Sewage treatment is the process of removing contaminants from waste water and household sewage through a sequence of processes. Physical, chemical and biological pollutants are removed at a Sewage Treatment Works until the water is ‘environmentally safe’.

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Untreated sewage can raise nutrient levels in waterways and make the environment unsuitable for some species of wildlife.

Contingency planning

Pumping systems at sewage treatment works undergo servicing and planned maintenance from time-to-time, where checks can be made and any required repairs can be carried out. It is during planned maintenance periods that the option to lease mobile pumps from a pump hire company is mostly taken up by operation managers.

Pump rental specialists also supply suitable pumps to UK water companies as aeration pumps can fail in extremely hot weather. When heavy rain falls on hard ground in drier months, flash flooding can take place which could cause a spillage.

There are a number of other examples to when pump failure can occur at sewage treatment works:

• When pipes burst or become severed

• When tanks fill up to capacity and need to be cleaned

• When liquid needs to be moved around an STW

• Where pumping processes need to be accelerated

• When on-site equipment is broken or is not working efficiently enough

• Where a fixed pump failure results in a raw sewage environmental threat to a waterway

By formulating a contingency plan with a pump hire specialist, all the aforementioned situations can be managed quickly and effectively . The specialist will already be primed to respond if needs be: a site survey will be part of the contingency plan, with the type of pumps and ancillary equipment that may be required at the site will be identified and listed.