100 signatures reached
To: The Environment Agency
Prosecute the Whitburn Sewage Polluters
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We want the Environment Agency to prosecute the directors of Northumbrian Water Limited for unlawfully discharging untreated sewage at Whitburn.
Why is this important?
Northumbrian Water Limited (NWL) discharges up to 1 million tonnes of untreated sewage into the North Sea at Whitburn each year.
Our marine environment at Whitburn is being destroyed by Sewage; the rock pools at Whitburn beach once teemed with wildlife but are now barren. The dolphins that are sighted daily swimming near the sewage overflow are forced to make their way through a soup of sewage when discharges are taking place.
The seagrass meadows in the nearby River Tyne estuary have been devastated by sewage flowing from nearby Combined Sewer Overflows. https://bit.ly/3bHG7db
This sewage pollution affects the marine environment of several designated areas of special areas of conservation off our coastline.
Littlehaven Beach has been awarded a brown flag for 2025 and 2026 and Seaburn beach lost its blue flag in 2025 and 2026 due to sewage pollution.
Our marine environment at Whitburn is being destroyed by Sewage; the rock pools at Whitburn beach once teemed with wildlife but are now barren. The dolphins that are sighted daily swimming near the sewage overflow are forced to make their way through a soup of sewage when discharges are taking place.
The seagrass meadows in the nearby River Tyne estuary have been devastated by sewage flowing from nearby Combined Sewer Overflows. https://bit.ly/3bHG7db
This sewage pollution affects the marine environment of several designated areas of special areas of conservation off our coastline.
Littlehaven Beach has been awarded a brown flag for 2025 and 2026 and Seaburn beach lost its blue flag in 2025 and 2026 due to sewage pollution.
OFWAT investigated NWL and in 2025 found the water company breached environmental law and threatened to fine them £15.7 million. NWL avoided the fine by agreeing several undertakings, including spending this money on Improvements.
To date no directors of NWL have been prosecuted.
Whitburn, in particular, featured in the OFWAT investigation. NWL agreed to an undertaking to produce a plan by Dec 8th 2025 to reduce the number of discharges at Whitburn.
To date no such plan has been published as the plan submitted to OFWAT by NWL was deemed unsatisfactory. OFWAT and NWL have refused to provide details of the plan submitted.
NWL should not have immunity from prosecution while they prepare a plan or whilst they put it into effect
Between 11th February 2026 and 13th Feb 2026 Northumbrian Water Limited discharged 113,267 tonnes of untreated sewage into the North Sea at Whitburn via the Long Sea Outfall when no extraordinary circumstances prevented full collection.
There was only light rainfall recorded locally during the days leading up to and during the period of discharges and there was definitely no unusually heavy rainfall.
Such discharges are in contravention of Section 4 of the Urban Waste Water Treatment (England and Wales) Regulations 1994 (UWWTR 1994) and are a breach of the general duty under Section 94 (Water Industry Act 1991).
The Environment Agency (EA) have been requested to undertake a prosecution of the directors of NWL for unlawfully discharging this untreated sewage.
The EA will not confirm if any prosecution will ensue and state that
“A request for a prosecution, even when strongly made, cannot substitute for the evidential and public interest assessment required in every case.”
The EA has been supplied with the evidence of the volumes of discharges and evidence of the light rainfall (No unusually heavy rainfall). The evidence submitted is sufficient to ensure a realistic prospect of conviction.
In order to demonstrate to the EA that there is a significant amount of public interest I ask that you sign and share this petition to request that the EA prosecute the directors of NWL for unlawfully discharging untreated sewage at Whitburn.
