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Sydney Water has been ordered to pay $200,000 to the NSW Environmental Trust after pleading guilty in the Land and Environment Court to failing to maintain equipment causing the release of untreated sewage into Powells Creek, a tributary of the Parramatta River.

The incident occurred on 6 January in 2022 when a split in a rising main – an underground pipe – in Strathfield led to between 700,000 and 1.2 million litres of untreated wastewater being released into local waterways.  

NSW EPA Executive Director Operations, Steve Orr said the guilty plea was welcomed, but Sydney Water’s failure to maintain equipment properly was a serious offence.