THE operators of a fruit farm that caused residents in Newent to have pink water coming out of their taps last year has been fined £12,000.
At Hereford Magistrates’ Court Haygrove Ltd, the company running the farm, pleaded guilty to two charges of contaminating the main water supply with pink fertilizer used at the farm.
The contamination saw around 30 homes and a caravan park have pink water coming out of their taps.
The court was told that a Severn Trent investigation in Newent revealed that the fruit farm had been the source of the contaminated water.
The water company stated that the pink water was caused by a cross connection after the main water pipe and the farm’s private pipes were connected incorrectly.
Haygrove Ltd was ordered to pay of total of £11,707.84 in fines, costs and compensation.
After the court hearing Dan Littlewood, water fittings expert at Severn Trent, said: “Thanks to the expertise and quick work of our teams, we were able to identify what was causing customers to have pink water, and work to get it back to normal as quickly as possible.” Severn Trent was awarded compensation as a reimbursement for the money and time spent in initially responding to, and then dealing with, the contamination.
Add Comment