Pollution fear warning is issued as River Kennet bursts its banks in Marlborough and elsewhere

A warning of pollution danger has been issued by Action for the River Kennet (ARK) as the river through Marlborough is now in a state of flood alert with water pouring over its banks in Coopers Meadow and other sites.

When ground water levels are high, sewers frequently become inundated with water, which then penetrates in through holes in the sewer pipes, gaps around manhole covers and misconnected drains.

Sewers become so full of water that the lids pop-up, spewing the foul contents across the surrounding area and letting sewage flow directly into the river.

There are now examples in Marlborough indicating the consequences of sewer “surcharging” its contents alongside the picturesque Kennet at Cooper’s Meadow, as pictured.

ARK is appealing to people to report pollution from sewer flooding to the Environment  Agency’s incident telephone line — 0800 807060 — and to Thames Water on 0845 9200 800.

ARK also needs to be informed of  any problem hotspots by emailing carolyn@riverkennet.org.

Thames Water are reposnible for clearing up flooding from their sewers, but better still ARK would like to see sewers maintained to a standard where sewer flooding is much less frequent.

“This type of pollution is bad for the environment, and a health hazard – as well as being very unpleasant to have to walk through,” ARK reports.

“Everyone can play their part in reducing sewer flooding by being careful what they flush away.  For example, wet wipes should not be flushed down the loo, but you would  be amazed how many wet wipes have been coming from the sewers into the Kennet this week.

“Blockages caused by cooking fat, non-flushable sanitary products and wet wipes make the sewer flooding problem worse.”

Charlotte Hitchmough,  ARK’s director, told Marlborough News Online:  “We are meeting Thames Water later this month and one of the issues we will be discussing is the performance of their sewers and sewage treatment works during wet weather.  It is simply unacceptable that raw sewage enters the river each time we get heavy rain.”

ARK’s call was endorsed by the Angling Trust, the national representative body for angling, which campaigns for clean rivers.  

Mark Owen, Head of Freshwater at the Trust, declared:

“Groundwater pollution through leaky sewer pipes is a real problem in chalk aquifers where springs can break through in unexpected places and overwhelm the system at times of high water.

“It is vital that the water companies are funded by the regulator to build in greater resilience to extreme weather conditions because, quite frankly, the current ageing infrastructure is simply not up to coping with what climate change is throwing our way.”