Anglian Water fined £1.6m for polluting Essex river

The sentence

Anglian Water was fined £1.6m by District Judge Timothy King at Cambridge magistrates' court on 15 October 2026, the Environment Agency said on 16 October 2026. The court ordered the company to pay £27,334 in costs and a £190 victim surcharge. The Environment Agency confirmed the penalty in its announcement the following day.

The fine followed a prosecution brought by the Environment Agency over pollution of the River Brain in Essex. The agency said the case concerned discharges from Anglian Water's Braintree water recycling centre. District Judge Timothy King handed down the sentence at Cambridge magistrates' court. The Environment Agency stated the total financial penalty included the fine, costs and surcharge.

What happened

The Environment Agency said untreated sewage and a semi-solid sludge, which water companies normally remove from sewage, polluted the River Brain for nearly 14km between Braintree and Witham in Essex. The pollution came from Anglian Water's Braintree water recycling centre, where a faulty valve had been broken for about a week before the first incident. The agency said the discharges began in April 2022 and happened again in late May, with the offence period running from 13 April to 2 June 2022.

Monitors recorded toxic ammonia at its highest level in ten years, according to the Environment Agency. The agency said the company ignored alarms warning of poorly treated sewage. It also said staff did not communicate with each other about the incidents. The Environment Agency attributed these findings to its investigation into the operation of the Braintree water recycling centre.

The charges

Anglian Water was charged with causing untreated sewage to enter the River Brain outside its environmental permit, the Environment Agency said. The company was separately charged with failing to comply with the permit. Both charges were brought under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016. The Environment Agency stated that the two offences related to the same series of discharges from the Braintree water recycling centre.

The Environment Agency said the first charge concerned the entry of untreated sewage into the river beyond what the permit allowed. The second charge concerned a failure to comply with the conditions of that permit. The agency confirmed the charges were heard together at Cambridge magistrates' court. The Environment Agency said the prosecution followed its investigation into the incidents between 13 April and 2 June 2022.

Wider picture

The Environment Agency carried out nearly 1,800 inspections of Anglian Water's wastewater sites in the 12 months to March and identified more than 830 actions to improve operations. Anglian Water is rated two stars in the agency's latest environmental performance assessment. The agency said these figures formed part of its wider regulatory oversight of the company.

In a separate case, Anglian Water pleaded guilty the previous week to discharging sewage and other harmful material off Southend in 2021 and 2022, and will be sentenced next April, the Environment Agency said. Since 2015, water companies in England have been prosecuted successfully more than 70 times, with £169m in fines secured, according to the Environment Agency. Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle said: Anglian Water have clearly been too slow to act in this case and the environment has paid the price. Marcus Sibley, water industry regulatory manager for the Environment Agency in East Anglia, said: We have significantly ramped up our scrutiny of the water industry.

Source: Environment Agency: £1.6m fine for Anglian Water's pollution of Essex river.

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Frequently asked questions

How much was Anglian Water fined for polluting the River Brain?

Anglian Water was fined £1.6m by District Judge Timothy King at Cambridge magistrates' court on 15 October 2026, the Environment Agency said. The court also ordered the company to pay £27,334 in costs and a £190 victim surcharge.

What caused the pollution of the River Brain?

The Environment Agency said untreated sewage and a semi-solid sludge, which water companies normally remove from sewage, polluted the River Brain for nearly 14km between Braintree and Witham in Essex. The pollution came from Anglian Water's Braintree water recycling centre, where a faulty valve had been broken for about a week before the first incident.

When did the River Brain pollution incidents occur?

The Environment Agency said the discharges began in April 2022 and happened again in late May, with the offence period running from 13 April to 2 June 2022. Monitors recorded toxic ammonia at its highest level in ten years.

What charges did Anglian Water face over the River Brain pollution?

Anglian Water was charged with causing untreated sewage to enter the River Brain outside its environmental permit, and separately with failing to comply with the permit, under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016, the Environment Agency said.

What did the Environment Agency say about Anglian Water's wider performance?

The Environment Agency carried out nearly 1,800 inspections of Anglian Water's wastewater sites in the 12 months to March and identified more than 830 actions to improve operations. Anglian Water is rated two stars in the agency's latest environmental performance assessment.