Norfolk farmer fined for using more water than permitted during drought
21st January 2025
A Norfolk farmer has been fined over £4,000 for taking and using more water than permitted, including during a summer drought.
Brian Rutterford from Lakenheath was fined for water abstraction offences and ordered to pay £4,300.
Over four years, Mr Rutterford took three times the amount of water he was licenced to take from a small channel next to his farm in Hockwold-cum-Wilton.
The 77-year-old farmer continued to take water during the record-breaking hot summer of 2022, when East Anglia was officially in drought and many local water courses were dry.
His actions impacted water supplies for the local community, the Environment Agency said.
Offences of over-abstraction
Mr Rutterford held two water abstraction licences, one for summer and one for winter. His licences required him to keep abstraction records and maintain abstraction meters, which he failed to do.
The farmer pleaded guilty to offences of over-abstraction under both licences between 2018 and 2022.
Environment Agency prosecutor Sarah Dunne told the court that, although Mr Rutterford explained that he over-abstracted to address a leak in his lake that put his fish at risk, his activities had continued for a four-year period, including during a summer drought.
In addition, these water abstraction offences were committed during his suspended sentence for another environmental offence for operating an unpermitted waste site at his farm.
Mr Rutterford was ordered to pay a total of £4,300, which included a £2,000 fine for his offences, £100 for breaching his suspended sentence, £2,000 prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of £200.
Scarce resource
Michelle Herron, East Anglia operational water resources specialist, said: “Water is a scarce resource. Abstraction licenses are issued to ensure that there is enough water for everyone and that there is no harm to the environment.
“Water abstractors have a responsibility to conserve supplies, especially during droughts. Mr Rutterford clearly failed in fulfilling his responsibilities, so it is right that he pleaded guilty and be fined by the court.”
A spokesperson for the Environment Agency added that drier summers will be an “enormous challenge” over the next few decades, so building resilience to drought is important.
“To protect water resources, the Environment Agency controls how much, where and when water is abstracted through the licensing system,” they concluded.
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