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An investigation into whether the Water Pollution Law was breached when a problem at the Bellozanne plant led under-treated sewage to flow into St Aubin’s Bay is still ongoing five months later.
Concerns about the quality of water in the Bay saw ‘no swimming’ advice issued on Wednesday 14 June.
Testing of undiluted samples taken from around First Tower – the location of the Sewage Treatment Works outflow pipe – was revealed to be “poor” by EU Standards.
However, the advice was lifted on Saturday 17 June, with the Government stating that a bathing water sample taken from the area on Friday 16 June was "excellent".
At the time, Government officials said that the problem at the plant was caused by the warm weather and lack of rain, as well as insufficient "organic matter" flowing through the plant for the bacteria used in its chemical processes to function properly. This meant that the sewage was treated to a lower standard than usual.
Video: Outflow in St. Aubin's Bay in June.
Although the facility has been running as normal since the incident, a Regulation team has been formally investigating what happened under the Water Pollution (Jersey) Law 2000. Water pollution incidents can carry an unlimited fine.
The Government confirmed this week that the investigation is still ongoing, and it is not possible to anticipate when it will conclude.
The ongoing investigation involves assessing the condition of the Sewage Treatment Works from both before and during the incident in June as well as the the definition of pollution in the Water Pollution Law. Officials said it would therefore be some time before it is complete.
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Pictured top: Signs were put up in St. Aubin's Bay to caution against swimming when the sewage issue was discovered.
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