Avonmouth sewage smell after waste moved following explosion

A strong smell of sewage has become worse after an explosion meant waste needed to be treated closer to homes, a water company has said.

In December 2020 three employees of Wessex Water and a contractor were killed in a blast at a water recycling centre in Kings Weston Lane, Avonmouth.

The sludge treatment facility relocated to allow investigations at the site, which moved it closer to residents.

Neighbours said it smelled "terrible", the firm said it was aware of issues.

Wessex Water said it had met local groups to hear their concerns and "are aware of odour problems" in the area.

'Re-wash your washing'

Paula Warman, from Lawrence Weston, said: "It's like horse manure, really bad.

"It is just horrible to be around, you can't have your windows open.

"You can't have your doors open for long periods, you are kind of stuck indoors because of the smell, you don't want to go out."

She added it was much worse in the hot weather.

Madeleine Channing said her family have to re-wash clean clothes because of the smell.

She said: "It's terrible, you have to shut your windows, sometimes you have to re-wash your washing it that bad and the flies are astronomical."

Other residents said they could smell "open sewers" in the middle of the day while working in their offices near to the plant.

Wessex Water said: "We are aware of odour problems in the area and have met local community groups to discuss their concerns

"Following the tragic incident in December 2020, we had to temporarily relocate our sludge treatment facility to a different part of the site which is closer to housing.

"This, combined with the extremely hot weather experienced this summer and an unusual change in wind direction, has meant local residents have experienced odour issues.

"The HSE investigation into the incident is ongoing, but we are close to securing permission to demolish the silos and move our treatment facility back to its original position."

The explosion happened on 3 December 2020

The explosion in 2020 happened in a silo that held treated biosolids. Biosolids are "treated sludge" - a by-product of the sewage treatment process.

Darren Jones, Labour MP for Bristol North West said constituents had contacted him with concerns.

In a statement Mr Jones said the water company had confirmed to him in an email the sewage smell was a consequence of moving silos after the explosion.

It read: "In an email response, Wessex Water has said the sewage smell is a consequence of the changes they had to make following the tragic explosion of the water recycling centre at Avonmouth in December 2020, with an area normally used to treat sewage biosolids closed off for the ongoing investigation by Avon & Somerset Police and HSE."