West Sussex Highways Contractor Apologises After Wastewater Discharged onto Private Industrial Estate

Council confirms highway maintenance tanker mistakenly emptied wastewater onto privately owned land after driver believed location was an authorised disposal point.

A highway maintenance contractor working on behalf of West Sussex County Council has apologised after wastewater collected during routine highway operations was mistakenly discharged onto privately owned land at an industrial estate in Henfield.

The incident occurred at Southdown Enterprise Park on Shoreham Road during the morning of 9 July, prompting complaints from the site owner after foul-smelling liquid was discharged onto a private roadway and into a privately maintained surface water drainage system.

West Sussex County Council has confirmed the discharge was made in error and says measures have now been introduced to prevent a similar incident from happening again.

Wastewater discharged in error

According to the council, the tanker driver believed the location was an authorised disposal point and was unaware that the land formed part of a privately owned industrial estate.

The vehicle entered the site at approximately 7.40am before discharging highway wastewater collected during maintenance activities.

The incident was subsequently reported to the county council by the business owner.

Business owner raises concerns

Sean Preston, Managing Director of Southdown Engineers, said the discharge left foul-smelling muddy liquid across the estate roadway and into the site's privately owned drainage system.

He raised concerns that his business could have been left to fund the clean-up had the issue not been addressed quickly, describing his frustration following the incident.

Mr Preston also contacted Horsham District Council's environmental enforcement team while reporting the matter to West Sussex County Council.

Contractor returns to clean the site

Following an investigation, West Sussex County Council confirmed that one of its highway maintenance contractors had been responsible for the incident.

A council spokesperson said the contractor had mistakenly identified the location as an approved disposal facility before carrying out the discharge.

Once the error was identified, the contractor returned to the site to undertake additional cleaning works and issued a direct apology to the landowner.

The council added that the contractor had also been reminded of the correct operational procedures for disposing of highway wastewater.

Procedures reviewed

West Sussex County Council said it recognised the concerns raised by the business owner and has taken steps designed to reduce the likelihood of a similar incident occurring in future.

The authority confirmed that operational guidance has been reinforced with the contractor following the investigation.

Mr Preston said he subsequently received both a telephone call and written apology from the contractor's management team after the clean-up had been completed.

Incident now resolved

The council has confirmed that the matter has now been resolved following the clean-up operation and discussions with the site owner.

While describing the incident as an isolated mistake, the authority says the case has highlighted the importance of ensuring contractors clearly identify authorised disposal locations before carrying out highway maintenance operations.

The council added that lessons have been learned from the incident and that appropriate measures have been put in place to help prevent a repeat occurrence.