Water firm promises fix after Chesterfield road floods with raw sewage

A pipe that carries raw sewage from more than 1,000 Chesterfield homes has burst five times in the last three months.
Residents Tony Fronia, Jane Whalley, Ian Jones and Bob BuntingResidents Tony Fronia, Jane Whalley, Ian Jones and Bob Bunting
Residents Tony Fronia, Jane Whalley, Ian Jones and Bob Bunting

The pipe has repeatedly gushed its unpleasant contents all over Westwood Lane in Brimington Common, down the footpath at the end of the road and into the nearby stream.

Ian Jones, who lives on Westwood Lane, became so worried about the danger, he put up signs to warn people.

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“It wasn’t a trickle – it was gushing down like a river,” he said.

Ian Jones with one of his signsIan Jones with one of his signs
Ian Jones with one of his signs

“There are kids who play in the stream and a lot of people who walk their dogs down there.

“When Yorkshire Water came out to test it they told me it had an ammonia level of eight, which is basically raw sewage.”

The problems started on June 15, there was another incident in July and then three more in August.

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However, it wasn’t just the smell that was causing the residents problems.

The raw sewage has found its way down to the nearby brook.The raw sewage has found its way down to the nearby brook.
The raw sewage has found its way down to the nearby brook.

The huge tankers that had to come and take the sewage away at ‘all hours of the day and night’ were causing noise and disruption on the normally quiet street.

The Environment Agency says it has started an investigation into the pollution, and Yorkshire Water has begun work to permanently fix the pipe.

Tom Philips, customer service optimiser at Yorkshire Water said: “We’ve had issues with the rising main sewer from Westwood Lane sewage pumping station and have had to complete interim repairs to ensure the network performs efficiently.

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“Our next step is to carry out an emergency scheme to replace the entire sewer to ensure the environment is protected and we will aim to keep traffic disruption to a minimum whilst we carry out this work.”