NewsUK NewsSouthern Water PLCThe water supplier was fined more than £7 million at Canterbury Crown Court after dumping sewage illegally off the Kent coast between 2019 and 2021.13:07, 17 Jul 2026Updated 13:25, 17 Jul 2026Southern Water has been fined more than £7 million at Canterbury Crown Court after illegally dumping sewage off the Kent coast, causing serious harm to local wildlife and tourism.‌The company, said to have caused harm from “a pattern of repeated incidents over several years”, pleaded guilty to 13 offences at Medway Magistrates’ Court last April over sewage discharges at Margate and Broadstairs wastewater pumping stations between 2019 and 2021.‌Nine counts related to the incidents of untreated sewage dumped off the Kent coast while three counts were over failure to notify authorities of the discharges as soon as practicable and within 24 hours of a warning which is a condition of its environmental permit.‌During the two-day sentencing hearing, the court heard how some of the sewage being pumped into the waters was "unscreened," meaning it still contained solid waste.Elsewhere during the trial, it was heard that on 16 February 2021, untreated sewage from the Broadstairs wastewater station was dumped into the sea for five hours straight due to a technical error, with authorities only being notified once the discharge was over.‌A final conviction was for failing to have a standby pump at Margate’s station between July 27 2019 and October 4 2020 in breach of its permit.In June 2021, the beaches in Thanet had to be closed for a week after the council declared the sewage discharge to be a "high profile pollution incident."The sentencing at Canterbury Crown Court took place across Thursday and Friday, with Mr Justice Johnson imposing a total fine of £7,127,083.Article continues belowIt comes after the company was fined £90 million for nearly 7,000 incidents across Hampshire, Kent and Sussex in a case brought by the Environment Agency in 2021.Thanet District Council's director of environment Michael Humber said the sewage discharges had been "particularly negatively impactful" on the environment and local economy, with tourism accounting for 20% of the area's employment.Defending Southern Water, Dominic Kay said there had been new leadership at the company since 2022 and it had been rebuilt around accountability.Choose Daily Mirror as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.‌Southern Water PLCCourt caseCrown court