Call to end 'years' of sewage discharge on streets

Campaigners and residents were invited to hear from the water company

Water company bosses have met villagers who say they have "put up with years" of sewage spilling into their streets and river.

A campaign group said there had been 66 discharges of raw sewage from the United Utilities sewage system onto the streets of Staveley in Cumbria since 2015.

United Utilities set up a drop-in session on Wednesday, to present proposals for improvement works.

The company said it has committed to works which will resolve the issue by 2030.

United Utilities met with residents after a meeting was cancelled last year

Most of the UK has a combined sewerage system, meaning that both rainwater and wastewater are carried in the same pipes.

United Utilities is allowed to discharge raw sewage into seas and rivers to prevent the system being overloaded.

But Clean River Kent Campaign (CRKC) said United Utilities discharged untreated sewage from the Staveley wastewater treatment works into the River Kent for the equivalent of 169 continuous days in 2022.

United Utilities claimed it had "one of the most ambitious projects in the sector"

United Utilities announced a three step plan to "fix" the issues by 2030.

It includes increasing capacity at the waste water treatment works, taking rain and surface water out of the system using equipment like water butts and a "large project" incorporating storage and treatment.

Chief Environmental Officer Simon Holding said: "It's really important that we've got community involvement.

"They know the area and we need to plan to make sure there's a least disruption as possible."

'Need progress'

But CRKC chair Isobel Stoddart said actions, not words, were needed.

At the drop-in session, she said: "We had a lot of commitments which is very good to hear.

"You can have meetings, but you need to see progress."

Residents said sewage comes up from manholes during heavy rain

Rosie Law, who lives in Staveley and is also an environmental campaigner, spoke about a walk she took a few weeks ago with her daughter.

She said: "We went to jump in puddles, like two-years-old do, and there was sewage debris across the road, across the pavement and straight into the river.

"So myself being pregnant, and my two-year-old, had to walk through that to get home and sadly that is a regular occurrence."

'Address sewer flooding'

A United Utilities spokesperson said: “We had a very constructive meeting with Staveley with Ings Parish Council and the Clean River Kent Campaign.

"We were able to share our plans... to reduce the use of combined sewer overflows into the River Kent and to address sewer flooding occurring from village manholes during bad weather.

“This will involve upgrading and increasing the capacity at Staveley wastewater treatment works and carrying out improvements to the local sewer network, all of which is planned to take place by 2030.

"We will make an early start on part of this programme and by September 2024 we will have increased the capacity of the treatment works by 50%.

“We’ve also committed to an ongoing collaborative approach and regular progress meetings with the community.”