John Lewis Plc was fined on 4 May after polluting a Reading stream with diesel oil following a leak from its store in the centre of the town.
 
Reading Magistrates' Court heard how the incident was entirely avoidable and that the poor design of a fuel overflow system allowed diesel to escape into the local surface water drainage system, which flowed directly into the Holy Brook.

The store group pleaded guilty to polluting the Holy Brook under section 85 of the Water Resources Act 1991 and was fined ?12,000 with ?2,032 costs.

The investigation was launched after the Environment Agency received reports of the Holy Brook, a tributary of the River Kennet, smelling of oil as it flowed through the centre of Reading near the public library.

Investigating officers tried to locate the source through a drainage outlet and explored surrounding roads, surface water drains and nearby premises but no source was found. Officers also followed the course of the brook and found the oil had entered the River Kennet with oil caught up in river plants. The oil was clearly visible as far as the Prudential Bridge and the HM Prison, and reached as far as  Blakes Lock, near to where the Kennet joins the Thames.

The following day officers returned to the scene to find oil was still entering the Holy Brook, but much less than before. Officers continued their search for the source and managed to locate it to the John Lewis store on Broad Street. 

The source was found to be a pump which formed part of the fire sprinkler system for the store, and officers ordered the managers to conduct a clean-up operation immediately.

The investigation found the cause to be a faulty gauge on the fuel tank of the pump, which powered the store's sprinkler system. The system is tested regularly and its tank is topped up after use, but the gauge incorrectly showed a three-quarter reading causing a staff member to overfill it.

The member of staff noticed that oil was overflowing into a drain, but thought that it was the way the equipment was designed and failed to notify managers.

Investigating officer Niclas Wigforss said: "This incident was entirely avoidable and the smell of diesel caused a great deal of discomfort to locals and passers in the busy town centre for two days until the clean up work had finished.  This could all have been easily avoided if John Lewis staff had reported the spill to their managers when it happened.

"We take incidents like this seriously and we can provide free advice on good practice for oil storage and compliance with oil storage regulations. We all have a duty to make sure that our rivers and streams remain healthy for us to enjoy and for wildlife to be able to flourish."

Author:
 Chris Mitchell
 
Date published:
 4-May-2006
 
Keywords:
 Pollution, watercourse, oil storage
 
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/news/1371950