Thames Water fined £2 million following conviction for avoidable release of raw sewage

On 21 December 2018, Thames Water was fined £2 million by Oxford Crown Court after pleading guilty to breaches of the Regulations 12(1)(b) and 38) (1) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 when raw sewage was released into two brooks near Chipping Norton in August 2015. The release was caused by numerous failures in the management of a sewage pumping station and led to the death of the entire local population of bullhead fish.