NEWSDESK
Road sweeping company to pay nearly £20,000 in fines and costs for illegal connections
Thames Water is clamping down on illegal water connections, with road sweeping services company, Kilgannon Street Care Ltd and Kilgannon Street Care Environmental Ltd, enforced to pay £19,600 in fines and costs for repeatedly connecting unauthorised and unlicensed standpipes since 2017.
The Kilgannon group have been prosecuted on four sperate occasions for 26 offences, including at Lavendar Hill Magistrates Court on 21 September 2017, Camberwell Green Magistrates Court on 21 February 2019, Bromley Magistrates Court on 31 May 2022 and most recently at Reading Magistrates Court on 30 August 2024.
Unauthorised connections can compromise the integrity of the clean water network when offenders do not pay for their connections, or the water consumed. With climate change and population growth putting a strain on water resources, Thames Water is taking action against those who illegally connect to its clean water mains.
Since 2017 more than 470 separate offences were uncovered and prosecuted and over 550 retrospective charges have been issued for first offences. In total the business has recouped £500,000 in the last seven years which is then reinvested back into crucial work to provide clean and wastewater services to around 16 million customers across London and the Thames Valley.
Claire Rumens, Thames Water’s illegal connections manager, said: “Our work to find and stop illegal connections helps us to uncover hundreds of offences and save millions of litres in water and uphold our statutory obligation to protect, control and maintain our clean water network.
“As we ask our customers to use water wisely and have engineers working around the clock to find and fix leaks, we are also doing our part to stop illegal connections to our water supply. We will always look to work with individuals and companies to
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educate and reduce the risk of re- offending.”
Thames Water Utilities Ltd (TWUL) have the right to prosecute all offences but may offer a one-off retrospective charge for a non- aggravated standpipe first offence. Standpipes can be hired from Thames Water’s authorised service provider.
To report an illegal connection or unauthorised standpipe connection email
illegalconnections@thameswater.co.uk or call Developer Services on 0800 009 3921
NADC membership benefits for SMEs
NADC has set up a Committee to focus on delivering a compelling set of benefits specifically for small and medium sized contractor members. First and foremost is ensuring that business derived from the NADC and DrainSafe websites is maximised through effective Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and potentially Google ads. The intention is that the ‘Find a contractor’ feature on both websites becomes a major source of business introductions for all DrainSafe Approved Contractors and NADC members. Next is a repositioning of the NADC App powered by eviFile to expand the benefits that it offers NADC members beyond the current hydrant and waste site functionally. The new features are planned to include access to fuel discounts, special offers from NADC Supplier members, a channel for members to invite other members to bid for sub-contractor work, and a members forum. The aim is that the benefits of NADC membership far outweigh the cost of
| November 2024 |
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NADC membership for responsible SME contractors. The focus on SME membership benefits will not in any dilute the attention that NADC pays to issues of greater impact for larger contractor members such as lobbying Government to dramatically improve drainage and sewer asset maintenance, revision to the current gully maintenance guidance and delivery of an alternative smart standpipe solution for water companies to introduce competition into the market place.
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