Wrexham-based company Enviroclear Site Services pleaded guilty to the offence and was fined £400 and ordered to pay £1,160 in prosecution costs.
Dee Valley said it had tried to work with Enviroclear Site Services and that “regrettably” this had not been the first occasion that they had been found taking water without the appropriate authority for which they received a written warning.
“It is hoped that with the successful prosecution, it will serve as a warning to others that Dee Valley Water will pursue and prosecute anyone who takes water from its mains illegally,” the firm said.
The firm’s emergency planner John Chapman said: “Apart from the theft of the water, these illegal connections to our water mains often stir up particles of minerals settled at the bottom of the pipes.
“This turbulence can discolour the water and upset customers. Understandably, this can lead to water quality complaints to us which have to be reported to our regulators – the Drinking Water Inspectorate and Ofwat – which in turn can impact on important performance criteria which, among other things, can have financial implications.”
Chapman said customers had made complaints about water quality on the Croesfoel Industrial Estate in Wrexham, which had coincided with reports of a tanker seen filling up in that area.
In mitigation, Enviroclear said that on the day in question, its tanker had attended an emergency in Wrexham where properties had been flooded with foul water caused by a blocked sewage main.
The tanker driver filled up from the water hydrant on the Croesfoel Industrial Estate, as he thought it was under the control of Welsh Water and no licence was required to use it under an agreement with Morrisons Utility Services, for which it works as a subcontractor.
Enviroclear has since obtained a permit from Dee Valley Water, allowing it to take water from any of the water firm’s hydrants. The company had not responded to requests for comment from Utility Week at the time of going to press.