South West Water apologises to Countess Wear for 'unacceptable odours'

50 people attended a public meeting at Countess Wear Community Primary School on Friday 27 September which had been called by South West Water to discuss sewage odour problems experienced by local residents.  The meeting was chaired by Ben Bradshaw MP.

Richard Gilpin, Head of Waste Water Services at South West Water, began by apologising for the unacceptable levels of odour from the sewage treatment works over the summer, caused by equipment failures. He also acknowledged that communications with residents had been inadequate. He announced a £6 million investment programme at the Countess Wear sewage treatment works to help prevent the recurrence of the problems in sludge processing and promised to establish better contacts with the local community.

However, feelings were running high in the question and answer session, with local residents angry about the longstanding failure of the company to solve the problems they experienced. The stench of rotting sewage had invaded their homes and gardens at frequent intervals, making them feel nauseous.  The primary school had had to close windows on hot days to keep the smell out.

It was alleged at the meeting that the sewage problems in Countess Wear were partly caused by the inadequacies of the pumping station in the new Persimmon housing estate.  Residents were informed that pumping stations such as this that had been built and operated by the builders of housing estates in the region would be taken over by South West Water in 2016.  In the meantime Mr Gilpin of South West Water undertook to contact Persimmon to advise how the situation could be improved, possibly with chemical treatment of the build up of sewage.

Several residents were alarmed to learn that sewage from the new town at Cranbrook would be pumped to the Countess Wear treatment plant.

Ben Bradshaw called upon South West Water to address all the issues raised in collaboration with the city council, the Environment Agency and Persimmon, and to let residents know the outcomes as soon as possible.

The meeting ended with the announcement that although South West Water could not pay compensation to individuals it would donate £5,000 to Countess Wear to be spent for the overall benefit of the community.  Residents will be consulted by city councillors Marcel Choules, Lesley Robson and Gill Tippins about how this money should be spent.  This will be an important feature of the forthcoming Countess Wear edition of the Priory Ward newsletter.

A South West Water customer service caravan will be near the shops in Glasshouse Lane from 10 am to 6 pm on 15th and 16th October to enable residents to discuss their concerns with staff.