Commenting on the Court of Appeal’s decision on the 19th February to reduce the fine imposed on Thames Water from £125,000 to £50,000, Dr Paul Leinster, Environment Agency Chief Executive, said: “We are disappointed that the Court of Appeal reduced the level of the fine. The pollution caused by Thames Water in 2007 spread for nearly 5 km of the River Wandle, and had a catastrophic impact on the local wildlife. This incident saw 20 years of careful river restoration work decimated in a matter of hours.

Thames Water was fined £125,000 and ordered to pay £21,335 in clean up and investigation costs in January 2009 after pleading guilty to allowing a large quantity of industrial strength chlorine to spill into the River Wandle, wiping out two decades of painstaking river restoration.

The spill originated from its Beddington Sewage Treatment Works near Mitcham, South London in September 2007.

The pollution spread downstream for nearly 5km and had a catastrophic impact, killing the majority of the fish in the river. It took three days to remove some two tonnes of dead fish from the river. The incident also affected the Wandle’s highly valued recreational areas such as Poulter Park, Ravensbury Park and the National Trust site at Morden Hall Park. At the time it was estimated that the river could take up to 10 years to recover.

The River Wandle is a well known chalk stream and tributary of the River Thames that flows through parts of Mitcham, Morden, Wimbledon and Wandsworth in South West London, cutting a green swathe through these heavily urbanised areas. Historically the river has suffered extreme pollution and was officially declared a sewer in the 1960s. But over the last 20 years it has become a vibrant rich habitat due to better environmental regulation, a fish stocking programme and huge local enthusiasm for the river which has resulted in a vast improvement of water quality.

The Agency's Chief Executive continued with his comment about the Appeal result: “In serious pollution incidents such as this, we would still like to see higher fines in addition to any action taken by the offending company, to provide a stronger deterrent to polluters. There are still an average of two serious pollution incidents a day and this is two too many. Of these water companies are responsible for more than one serious pollution incident a week.

"But we welcome the incentive this decision creates for polluters to put right the damage they cause, quickly and voluntarily. The Court recognised that ‘the failures in this case make the offence an extremely serious one of its type’. As a result, the Court considered that a fine of £250,000 to £300,000 would have been appropriate, as well as an order for compensation.

“The main reason the Court decided to reduce the fine so significantly today was because of the steps Thames Water took to put right the environmental damage they had caused. The court took into account Thames Water's ‘unprecedented payment and pledge of the total sum of £500,000’ for local restoration and environmental improvement projects.

“New civil sanctions powers which we expect to receive in the next few months will also give us a more flexible toolkit to require businesses that cause pollution to pay for the cost of repairing the damage.”