Water pollution is harmful to human health, marine lives and the environment. It is largely caused by human activity. In UK, laws have been developed to tackle water pollution. 

Let's first look at sources of water pollution in the UK.

Sources of Water Pollution

Sewage (Waste Water)

Agricultural Pollution

Oil Pollution

Radioactive Substances

River dumping

Marine Dumping

Prevention and Control of Water Pollution

UK Legislation (England & Wales)

A range of legislation deals with different aspects of water pollution control. Even there are laws for Cemeteries and burials to prevent groundwater pollution with aim to reduce the level of diffuse pollution in river.

Water Pollution Incidents

In England and Wales, if you become aware of a pollution incident or even a potential risk to the water environment, you should contact the Environment Agency immediately. If they suspect a water pollution offence has been committed, they may prosecute the person responsible. The Environment Agency may require the polluter to take steps to clean up or prevent the pollution. Really serious pollution incidents may amount to 'water damage' under the Environmental Damage Regulations. The Regulations require operators to take action to prevent or remediate the damage. They give effect to the European Environmental Liability Directive 2000/35/EC.

Water Pollution Offences

The principal water pollution offences are contained in the Environmental Permitting Regulations. It is an offence to cause or knowingly permit a water discharge activity unless you are complying with an environmental permit or exemption. Things that count as water discharge activities are listed and they include:

• discharging poisonous, noxious or polluting matter or solid waste matter into inland freshwater, coastal waters and relevant territorial waters. The legislation does not define poisonous, noxious or polluting. These words are normally given their ordinary meanings.
• discharging trade or sewage effluent into inland freshwater, coastal waters and relevant territorial waters
• cutting or uprooting substantial amounts of vegetation in any inland freshwaters, without taking reasonable steps to remove it.

It is also an offence to cause or knowingly permit a groundwater activity unless you are complying with an environmental permit or exemption. Broadly speaking, groundwater activities cover discharges of pollutants directly into groundwater, or indirectly. An example of an indirect discharge would be where some polluting liquid like paint is poured onto the ground and gets into the groundwater by percolating down through the soil. Details of exactly what counts as a groundwater activity are given in Schedule 22 to the Regulations. This part of the legislation is quite complicated, because it is giving effect to three pieces of European legislation - the Groundwater Directive, the Groundwater Daughter Directive and the Water Framework Directive.

Causing or knowingly permitting
The courts take a broad approach when deciding whether a person (or a company) caused a water discharge or groundwater activity. There is no need to show that a person knew about the activity or intended it. If pollution is due to a chain of events, a person may be regarded as having caused it even if someone else's actions immediately triggered the pollution. Take the example of a river that is polluted because an unknown person turns on the tap of a diesel tank stored by the river bank. Depending on the exact circumstances, the company that owns the tank as part of their operations might be charged with causing the pollution. This strict approach is why this is known as a strict liability offence.
Knowingly permitting includes cases where a person (or company) is aware of a polluting incident but refuses to take steps to stop the pollution.

Environmental permit
A person or business can apply to the Environment Agency for an environmental permit to do a water discharge or groundwater activity, like discharging treated sewage effluent. They must comply fully with the permit and all the conditions. Failure to do so is an offence.

Exemptions
Some water discharge activities and groundwater activities are treated as exempt activities. These include certain small discharges of sewage from treatment works and septic tanks. Exempt activities can be carried on without an environmental permit provided that the person responsible registers with the Environment Agency, complies with special rules and ensures that they do not cause water pollution.

Inland freshwater, coastal water, relevant territorial water and groundwater
The offences cover pollution of different types of water. The water types are defined in section 104 of the Water Resources Act 1991. Taken together they cover virtually all groundwater and surface water - including lakes, ponds, watercourses and rivers, estuaries, coastal waters and the territorial sea out to 3 nautical miles.

Penalties

If a person is tried and convicted in a Magistrates Court, they could be fined any amount and/or sentenced to up to twelve months imprisonment. If they are tried and convicted in a Crown Court they could face an unlimited fine and/or be sentenced to up to five years imprisonment.

Defences

It is a defence to a water pollution offence if the activity was done in an emergency in order to avoid danger to human health, provided that reasonable steps were taken to minimise pollution and notify the regulator promptly. It is also a defence if the discharge is from a mine that was abandoned before 2000.

Examples of Water pollution offences

In March this year, Thames Water Utilities Ltd was sentenced in the largest freshwater pollution case ever taken by the Environment Agency. Thames Water is ordered to pay record GBP 20 million for river pollution, on account of fines and costs for a series of significant pollution incidents on the River Thames. These offences were caused by negligence and led to the death of wildlife and distress to the public.

Environment Agency investigation leads to dairy farmer being fined for polluting a protected watercourse.

Imerys Minerals have been ordered to pay GBP100,000 in fines and costs for allowing a hazardous chemical to enter a Cornish river.

Tata Steel UK Ltd has agreed to pay GBP73,000 towards improving the Bottesford Beck following a pollution incident near Scunthorpe.

Controlling polluting activities

Environmental Permits

Most activities that could pollute water are regulated under environmental permits. This includes things like large sewage treatment works. People or businesses wishing to carry out these kinds of activities must obtain a permit from the Environment Agency and comply with the conditions. If they do not, they will commit an offence. They could also face a notice requiring them to comply with the permit, or have their permit revoked or suspended. Permits are granted under the Environmental Permitting Regulations.

River Basin Planning

In England and Wales, the Environment Agency prepares plans every six years for how to manage river basin districts. They are known as river basin management plans. They are long documents that include, amongst other things:

• a description of the state of the rivers, estuaries, lakes, coastal waters and groundwater in the district
• a description of the pressures and impacts on the water environment
• objectives for improving or maintaining the status of the waters
• a programme of measures to achieve those objectives

UK water quality standards

UK water quality standards are set in accordance with the Water Framework Directive. The precise values for standards have been set with advice from the UK Technical Advisory Group (UKTAG).

The Environment Agency is primarily responsible for maintaining and improving the quality of fresh, marine, surface and underground waters in England. Natural Resources Wales (NRW), the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and the Environment and Heritage Services (EHS) have equivalent responsibilities in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively.

Drinking water quality

The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) is the relevant body that regulates and monitors the quality of drinking water in England and Wales. The Water Industry Act 1991 requires local authorities to keep themselves informed about the quality and quantity of water supplies provided to premises within their area.

Regulatory Bodies (England and Wales)

The Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales

The Environment Agency (EA) is responsible for dealing with water pollution incidents in England. Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is responsible for this in Wales. EA and NRW seek to prevent or reduce the risk of water pollution and to ensure that pollution incidents are cleaned up as quickly as possible. They carry out enforcement actions against companies and other businesses that cause water pollution. They are also responsible for maintaining and improving fresh, marine, surface and underground waters within the region.

Local Authorities

The Water Industry Act 1991 requires local authorities to monitor the wholesomeness and adequacy of water supplies within their areas. Many local authorities routinely conduct sampling programmes of main supplies to determine if the supplies are safe for consumption and recreation. Some of the sampling tests are conducted in response to consumers' complaints. Water suppliers must also annually report to local authorities and notify them of any matter that may be harmful to public health. Where a local authority considers water supplies to be harmful or inadequate, it must notify the water supplier who would be required to take appropriate action to address the problem.

Drinking Water Inspectorate

The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) is responsible for regulating the quality of drinking water supplies within England and Wales.

Roles:

Assesses and monitors drinking water quality.

Requires water suppliers to submit to it monthly quality data reports.

Inspections of water sampling processes.

When necessary, it will require water suppliers to implement schemes that improve drinking water quality.

Works with local authorities to ensure public drinking water supplies is not harmful to human health.

Undertake enforcement actions if standards are not met

 

Sources:

http://www.environmentlaw.org.uk/rte.asp?id=33

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/aug/03/water-companies-polluting-rivers-beaches

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/thames-water-ordered-to-pay-record-20-million-for-river-pollution