NORTHERN Ireland Water has been fined £80,000 for numerous pollution incidents.
The company was fined £60,000 relating to two separate discharges from a sewage treatment works at Killinchy, Co Down in 2017.
In addition, it was also fined another £20,000 for a fish kill near Castlewellan in 2016 in which 1,900 fish died.
It is the largest ever fine for the taxpayer funded, publicly owned company.
It is just the second time that NI Water has been prosecuted in the crown court. Previously, pollution cases were handled by the magistrates court and the maximum fine was £20,000.
Sitting in Downpatrick, Judge Piers Grant said sentences had to act as a significant deterrent.
He said it was the duty of the company to make sure that its equipment was appropriately maintained. A cracked pipe caused the Castlewellan spill.
At Killinchy, the court was told that treatment equipment had not been functioning fully. It also appeared to have been a long-term issue and there had been previous incidents at the works dating back nine years.
An NI Water spokesman said the company "accepts full responsibility" and added that it had taken measures to ensure the incidents did not reoccur.
"While the extent and size of the network we operate means there is a risk of pollution incidents of this nature occurring, on the rare occasions when it does, it is a matter of the utmost regret to the company.
"We can, however, give assurances the company is set stringent targets by the Utility Regulator to reduce pollution incidents, and these targets have been consistently met and exceeded since 2008.
"There are a number of learnings and actions that we can and have implemented to ensure these incidents do not reoccur. These include investment in more robust equipment and further training of staff.
"These actions, and the investment required to implement them, are an indicator of how seriously NI Water takes pollution and the lengths we will go to, to prevent a repeat occurrence."
