Construction company pays £55,000 after polluting River Don in South Tyneside upgrade

A construction company will donate £55,000 to Tyne Rivers Trust after it polluted the River Don during a major upgrade to the A19 in South Tyneside.

Costain Limited were found to have breached its environmental permit after an investigation by the Environment Agency found contaminated water was washed down highway drains and into the river.

The company had an environmental permit which allowed it to discharge water treated by a sediment treatment facility into the Don while working on the A19 Testos roundabout in 2019.

Whilst works were being carried out, an Environment Agency officer in the area reported a plume of sediment in the river.

Following a dry spell of weather, Costain Limited had decided to jet wash and sweep the road surface to remove a build up of mud. However, the road sweeper was not powerful enough to suck up all of the dirty water and instead the contaminated water ran directly into highway drains, bypassing the company’s sediment treatment measures, and into the River Don.

The silt in the water was vastly in excess of what the permit allowed, and it caused discolouration for at least 500 metres.

There was no long-term ecological impact on the river.

After the incident the company introduced a new monitoring and maintenance regime as well as training for site staff, and no further incidents occurred.

It also submitted an Enforcement Undertaking to the Environment Agency which is a voluntary offer to make amends, which includes the £55,000 donated to Tyne Rivers Trust.

Read South Tyneside’s news on the go with our free email newsletters - bringing the headlines to your inbox. Catch up on the day’s news and sport and enjoy even more from your Gazette. Visit our website here to find out more and sign up.

Environment Agency investigating officer Josh Laidler said:

“Companies carrying out any major development work have a responsibility to ensure they abide by their permits to protect the local environment, and we will take action when pollution occurs.

“While we will always take forward prosecutions in the most serious cases, Enforcement Undertakings are an effective enforcement tool to allow companies to put things right and contribute to environmental improvements.

“They allow polluters to correct and restore the harm caused to the environment and prevent repeat incidents by improving their procedures, helping ensure future compliance with environmental requirements.”

Tyne Rivers Trust will use the donation on projects that will improve water quality in the River Don catchment.