Village fury with Thames Water as sewage spills on road for months

Andy Brown, 75, says remnants from the sewer have been coming up through manhole covers in Lambourn since early December last year, before flowing into the River Lambourn in Berkshire.

The Newbury Street resident says schoolchildren and locals regularly try to evade the sewage, including sanitary products, wet wipes, and toilet paper, while urging drivers to abide by the 30mph speed limit. He says when motorists come flying through Lambourn it makes the situation even messier.

Thames Water apologised to those affected and stressed it is working hard to prevent further flooding, but that "excessive heavy rain" and high groundwater levels are exacerbating the situation. 

Mr Brown said: "I have had to wash my garage three times as a result of the sewage discharge. It comes through my back garden and into the river.

"What makes it worse is that cars drive too quickly through the village, just when children are walking to school. Thames Water comes every day to try and fix it and take solid paper away. We almost pray for it not to rain - you feel a bit hopeless."

Sewage problems in Lambourn (Image: Swindon Advertiser)

Last month, Anna Forbes, senior project officer at Action for the River Kennet (ARK), called on water companies and local councils to step up their efforts to prevent sewage flowing into rivers, such as the River Lambourn; which she says is supposed to be clear but instead is grey with this discharge. 

Swindon Advertiser has been told groundwater levels in Lambourn are the highest they have been in 30 years and the past year has been one of the wettest on record.

That has overwhelmed local sewer networks and even when it stops raining, it takes a long time for the extra water to die down. 

Thames Water added they are working closely with the Lambourn Valley Flood Forum to investigate this issue, have installed 10 kilometres of leak-tight liners in their sewers, and have sealed more than 100 manholes locally. 

Sewage spilling into the River Lambourn (Image: Swindon Advertiser)

A Thames Water spokesperson said: “We’re sorry that customers have been affected as our sewers have become overloaded by floodwaters in the River Lambourn area. The excessively heavy rain that the region has experienced means the groundwater and river levels remain very high in this area and the ground is saturated. A significant amount of this water is entering the local sewer system and causing flooding from manholes.   

“We are working hard to keep our sewers flowing and to prevent further flooding. We’re carrying out daily clean-ups where the manholes have been overflowing in Lambourn and we’re using tankers at our sewage pumping station in Upper Lambourn 24 hours a day to help manage excess flows in the sewers. We also have a filter unit in place near Lambourn fire station, which uses a pump to take the excess water out of our foul sewer, so it can be screened and then safely returned to the river.   

“We regularly monitor the water quality in the River Lambourn and the results have has shown a minimal impact on the environment because the flows are heavily diluted by the groundwater and surface water runoff. We regularly keep the Environment Agency updated on these results. 

“We’re continuing to work closely with the Lambourn Valley Flood Forum and we continue to investigate where groundwater and surface water is getting into the sewer system. We’ve previously installed 10.1km of leak-tight liners in our sewers, and have sealed 122 manholes in the local sewer network.”