Calls for more sewage system investment amid flooding

Flooding in Wiltshire has made the issue of storm overflows more prominent

Water company bosses have been urged to pay for "overdue upgrades to our sewage systems".

Wiltshire Council has asked water firm chiefs to attend a meeting about how they plan to improve the county's rivers and sewage systems.

Flooding recently hit homes in Calne, partly caused by storm overflow. Resident Lucy Rees said: "It was a great shock. We have neighbours here for 40 years who have never experienced it."

Both Wessex Water and Thames Water, which both cover Wiltshire, said they investing millions of pounds into preventing future discharges.

Ms Rees said everything was "ruined" in her living area following the floods, she added: "It really caught us out. We've never had this before."

Heavy rainfall caused the living area of Lucy Rees' home to flood

Wessex Water has previously met with the council to discuss plans on storm overflows.

"We’re already investing £3m every month on schemes to reduce overflow operations, including in Warminster, Chippenham, Bradford on Avon and Salisbury in the last year," a spokesperson said.

Councillor Robert McNaughton put forward a motion at a full council meeting on Tuesday, October 15, which expressed "disappointment" at the water industry for not preventing sewage overflows.

He called on water companies to provide “greater clarity on future investment in the overdue upgrades to our sewage systems in Wiltshire”.

"We need to work with their management, to determine or to understand more what they are going to do to reduce the poo in our rivers," he added.

Councillor Nick Holder, the council's cabinet member for flooding, said there was unanimous support for the motion.

He told the BBC the council has had meetings with the industry previously.

"We want to keep the conversation high-profile. To work collaboratively with them," he added.

A Thames Water spokesperson said: "While all storm discharges are unacceptable, the sewage system was historically designed to work in this way, to prevent sewage backing up into people’s homes."

The company also has plans to upgrade 250 of facilities across its region, including Marlborough sewage treatment works.