THE Environment Agency (EA) has given a water company an official warning for an incident where sewage was pumped into a river in dry weather. 

United Utilities (UU) operates Cark Pumping Station, which was found to have breached its environmental permit after an investigation into an incident on February 14 2023. 

The regulator said that the pumping station had been spilling into the River Eea during a period of dry weather. 

Water companies are only allowed to discharge sewage during times of exceptionally wet weather to stop the system from flooding. 

When there is a large amount of rainfall, sewage is diluted before going out into bodies of water. However, the agency said in a letter to the MP Tim Farron that this discharge had a potentially "significant" impact on the local environment. 

The reason for the spills was blamed on groundwater entering the sewer.  

A spokesperson from the EA said: "Sewage pollution can be devastating to human health, local biodiversity and the environment. We recognise that incidents like this cause a real impact on those people living in the local area

"We have been working hard to ensure UU is making appropriate progress, however, our investigations have concluded the site was polluting the River Eea and this was a breach of their environmental permit.

“It is the responsibility of water and sewerage companies to manage their operational activities to comply with all relevant environmental legislation.

"Under the EAs Enforcement and Sanctions guidelines UU has been issued with a warning for this incident and EA officers will use the evidence gathered to drive further improvements. We will investigate all future incidents at the site and will consider what enforcement action is appropriate for each one."

Mr Farron wanted to see more action be taken against UU. Before the EA had decided what enforcement action to take, he said: "It is outrageous that so much sewage which flows into our river happens legally but this is one that is surely illegal. 

"EA should throw the book at them. This is totally unacceptable. A company that made £20 billion should not be given a slap on the wrist." 

United Utilities said: "We are continuing to work with the Environment Agency to deliver on an action plan to tackle groundwater infiltration issues at Cark pumping station."