WATER company United Utilities has been fined £19,000 for polluting Clapham Beck.

The firm, formerly North West Water, was also ordered to pay costs of £1,256 by Skipton magistrates after pleading guilty to discharging sewage from Clapham Waste Water Treatment Works into the beck.

Jane Morgan, prosecuting on behalf of the Environment Agency, said the beck was a tributary of the River Wenning and an important watercourse for the local fish population. It was separated from the treatment works by a banking

On January 15 2002, the Environment Agency carried out an inspection of the unmanned works and an environmental protection officer noticed effluent trickling into the beck.

He alerted United Utilities and asked for an assurance that there would be no future discharge. However, when he revisited the site, he found there was still a leakage.

The officer introduced a green dye to highlight the path the effluent was taking. This showed it was travelling through a neighbouring field and then into the beck.

On January 22 the officer contacted the company again. He was told the primary tank at the works, where the sewage was stored before being put into two lagoons and percolated into the ground, was being emptied twice a day.

The company was also looking at removing effluent and slush from the upper lagoon.

In the long term it said it was looking at building a new plant which would also take flows from Austwick and Newby, but this could not be done until 2006.

A subsequent environmental assessment of the site showed the leakage into the beck finally stopped on January 24.

Mrs Morgan said United Utilities had been aware of the situation for many years and knew the site was far from satisfactory and needed investment.

In mitigation, Angela Muston said the Clapham facility was one of over 600 waste water works owned and operated by the company and was one of the smallest and least sophisticated. The company did not deliberately flout the law and took its environmental responsibilities seriously.

Mrs Muston said at the time of the incident it had been very wet and the lagoons had become full and the surrounded area water-logged.

As soon as the situation was brought to the company's attention, a tankering operation began to keep the lagoons at a low level, costing the firm £16,000.

Subsequently the lagoons were emptied, dug over and walls rebuilt, a project costing a further £52,500.

Mrs Muston said a £5 million project to lay a new sewer pipeline to Settle water treatment works was planned, which would also take flows from the Clapham, Austwick and Newby facilities. This was expected to be completed by December 31 this year.

She added that there had been no serious damage to the water quality in the beck or to the flora and fauna or any human health implications.