Davey gets Thames to take action over odour

03.11.06

Last Friday (27th October), Edward Davey and Cllr Penny Shelton met senior Thames Water managers to discuss a large number of complaints received from residents in Berrylands, New Malden and Norbiton regarding the smell from the sewage works.

Thanks to many residents who sent him reports about the problem during the summer months, Edward Davey was able to present a case that this was still a recurring problem and, if anything, has got worse and spread over a wider area in the last two summers.

Thames Water admitted, prior to this meeting, they had commissioned a special independent odour survey as a result of complaints. They are now implementing the list of recommendations for action from this independent report.

The first plan was a complete cleaning out of the tunnel that links the old sewage site at Worcester Park to the Hogsmill site.  They agreed to give Edward a further update shortly and a schedule of proposed maintenance works at the site.

Speaking after the meeting, Edward Davey said “Thames Water are now fully focused on this problem and are promising to take seriously the odours from the Hogsmill site. I have made it clear that I will be monitoring the situation closely, as the level of complaints from local residents over the last year or so shows this situation has got worse.

I would urge all residents, who smell an odour they believe comes from the site, to contact Thames Water Customer Care number on 0845 9200800 straight away with their location.  The company does have a duty to log all reports and act on them if there is an obvious pattern within a short time scale.  This way Thames Water can link the reports with any ongoing works at the site, local weather conditions and hopefully identify the source of the problem.

If residents also provide their postcode, they will have access to an automated ‘bulletin board’ that reports any maintenance work that may be causing a problem.

We need to win the case for extra investment, so if we, as a community, give Thames Water full details of date, time and duration of any odours, we can enhance the chances of a solution to this longstanding problem.  I would also be grateful to receive reports as well so I can monitor the situation."

Southwood Drive Flooding

The problems with flooding in Southwood Drive was also tackled at the meeting at the Hogsmill treatment site. Although the problem in Southwood Drive is not directly related to this site, the new Area Relationship Manager, Matthew Harris, was there to accept the petition on behalf of Thames Water.

The meeting was positive and Mr. Harris reassured Edward Davey that Thames Water will take this seriously. He will obtain a full report from to see what work had been done, and what work is intended, to alleviate this problem.  Edward Davey will keep residents updated as and when he receive his report.

In the meantime, it is suggested that, in addition to the petition, all residents affected by the flooding write to Thames Water separately with details of the damage to property and the dates of incidents.  They should also write-in, if and whenever the problem re-occurs.

Letters should go to: Jeremy Pelczer, Chief Executive, Thames Water Utilities Ltd, Clearwater Court, Vastern Road, Reading, RG1 8DB.  Edward Davey would appreciate a copy of any complaint, if possible, so that he can monitor this situation.

Evidently, Thames Water has a statutory duty to log each complaint and produce statistics to OFWATT and other consumer watchdogs. If there is a significant amount of complaints about the same issue, they are more likely to take action and this will receive more priority than other incidents elsewhere.  Also, if there is any possibility of compensation or re-imbursement of rates, residents need to have individual complaints logged.

Edward Davey said “I would like to congratulate the residents involved for their collective action in organising the petition to highlight this issue. I have been reassured that Thames Water is taking this seriously and we must keep up the pressure till this is finally resolved after all these years.”