Transport Insights

The road gully into which a woman poured a small amount of coffee – and was briefly fined – discharges unmitigated into the River Thames with all the toxic runoff from roads in the area.

Thames Water has told me that the gully near the train station in Richmond, Surrey is linked to a surface water drainage sewer system (rather than a combined sewer system with domestic waste water) linked to an outfall on the Thames. A Thames Water map shows that there is no facility to mitigate the runoff at the outfall.

This means that although the small amount of coffee poured away by Burcu Yesilyurt would – when it rained – have made its way into the river, it would have joined many gallons of rainwater contaminated with oil residues, tyre and brake wear particles, heavy metals, and other organic matter.

This far more significant pollution is largely unmitigated between the street and the Thames, although if the gully pots are properly maintained by the highway authority, they will capture a proportion of the pollution.

The road and the gullies are the responsibility of Richmond Council, whose officers initially gave Ms Yesilyurt a fine under Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which makes it an offence to deposit or dispose of waste in a way likely to pollute land or water.

Although the highway authority subsequently rescinded the fine on the grounds that it was “a minor contravention”, it has said that it believes that its officers acted correctly.

However, it has refused to state whether its officers made an assessment of the relative impact that the coffee would have compared to the other road runoff. If it did not assess the impact of the coffee, it should not have asserted that an offence had been committed.

Despite telling the BBC that it was “committed to protecting Richmond’s waterways”, the council also refused to confirm that the gully flows into the Thames. This suggests that it is aware of its own hypocrisy in that it is itself significantly adding to the pollution of the borough’s main waterway.

Jo Bradley of Stormwater Shepherds told me:

Pollution from highway runoff is one of the three biggest sources of river pollution in the UK.

Councils have very little information about their highway outfalls and the extent of that pollution in their areas, but as we recognise this pollution more, they will have to start to investigate their networks and consider pollution prevention techniques.