United Utilities, which provides water and wastewater services to homes across Lancashire, has been fined £800,000 for taking too much water from the environment.

Following a prosecution by the Environment Agency, United Utilities Water Limited has today (August 16) been fined a total of £800,000 at Warrington Magistrates' Court after illegally abstracting 22 billion litres of water from boreholes in Lancashire.

This is enough to fill 8,800 Olympic swimming pools. 

The water company has apologised for the offenced but said it "inadvertently breached" the abstraction licence.

The over abstraction caused additional stress on the environment during a period of very dry weather in 2018, and led to a significant decline in the water level available in the Fylde Aquifer. 

The aquifer, an underground water storage area, which helps to support healthy river flows and is an important public water source, will take years to recover. 

The case was brought after an investigation by the Environment Agency revealed United Utilities had taken more water than allowed by five of its abstraction licences in the in the Franklaw and Broughton Borehole complex.  

Grant Batty, water services director at United Utilities, said:  “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 £3 million voluntary contribution to local environmental improvement projects.”

Carol Holt, Environment Agency area director for Lancashire, said:  “Our priority is to ensure clean and plentiful water for people, the economy and the environment in England and we welcome today’s 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 today’s 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.”  

Water minister Rebecca Pow said: “It is absolutely right that companies that harm our environment are held to account by the courts, as has happened with United Utilities today.  

“Through our Plan for Water we are driving forward work to improve our water system and deliver the change people want to see – including tougher enforcement, tighter regulation of water companies and increased investment.” 

Part of the £800,000 fine included costs of £41,395, plus a £170 surcharge to fund victim services.