Private school fined for water pollution

A private school in Winscombe has been ordered to pay almost £17,000 in fines and costs after it caused a major pollution alert.

Sidcot School was taken to court in a prosecution brought by the Environment Agency following an incident on October 12, 2008.

A school maintenance engineer discovered approximately 33,000 litres of oil had been lost from the school after leaking from a faulty pipe.

The leakage came from the corroded pipe connecting two oil storage tanks to the school's heating boilers and caused a major pollution alert.

After the alarm was raised, Bristol Water closed its Winscombe boreholes as a precaution because the spill occurred on a major aquifer close to the public drinking water supply.

At North Somerset Magistrates' Court the school pleaded guilty to causing polluting matter, namely heating oil, to enter controlled waters.

Magistrates were told that the school's maintenance engineer first though the oil had been stolen when he saw the empty tanks.

However, when he walked in the direction of the underground pipeline, he discovered oil was coming up through the Tarmac.

The leaking section of fuel pipeline, installed around 40-years ago, was examined and showed signs of corrosion.

Samples of ground water taken from a borehole 10 metres from the leak contained petroleum hydrocarbon levels far in excess of acceptable levels for drinking water.

The school was fined £9,000 and ordered to pay £2,901 costs, as well as £5,000 compensation to Bristol Water plus a £50 victim surcharge.