United Utilities fined nearly £1m for sewage spills

United Utilities has been ordered to pay £964,225 in fines and costs following a significant sewage pollution incident along the Lancashire coast in June 2023. The company pleaded guilty to five environmental-permit offences at Preston Magistrates Court on September 8, 2026. The incident, which occurred between June 11 and June 22, 2023, involved the discharge of raw sewage into the Irish Sea from three coastal pumping stations along the Fylde Coast. The discharges lasted for more than 35 hours in total over several days. Sewage was reported on beaches and in marine recreational facilities, impacting bathing water quality and leading the Environment Agency to issue no-bathing advice across all eight designated bathing waters along the affected coastline. Sampling also indicated the presence of E. coli, prompting the Food Standards Agency to temporarily close three shellfish beds due to public health concerns. An investigation by the Environment Agency determined that the pollution began after a partial collapse of a final effluent pipe at Fleetwood Wastewater Treatment Works. This failure reduced the site's treatment capacity, causing sewage to back up through the wider system.