A spill of partially treated sewage in Exmouth has renewed the focus on the resilience of the town’s sewer system.
South West Water has confirmed a spill occurred from its Maer Lane waste water treatment works in Exmouth this week.
The cause has been described as a “process failure”, and the issue has been fixed, according to the firm, which, it is understood, has updated the Environment Agency on the situation.
But the spill has renewed the focus of some of the town’s residents on the ability of Exmouth’s sewer system to cope with the expected glut of housing development likely to head to the town in the coming years.
The biggest prospective housing scheme could be on land at St John’s, which has been chalked up as being able to accommodate around 700 homes.
Known officially as Exmo_20 – the site’s formal name in East Devon District Council’s draft local plan – campaigners include sewage as one of their reasons for opposing the potential allocation of the land for such a huge housing development.
“If you care about where we live and are concerned about the impact that a 30 per cent increase in housing around the Exe Estuary would have on our struggling sewerage, highways, dentists, healthcare, schools, water supply and other infrastructure & services as well as the detrimental effect on wildlife and the natural environment, please sign [our] petition,” a statement on their Stop Exmo_20 petition page states.
David Reed MP (Conservative, Exmouth & Exeter East) said the Environment Agency had confirmed that the sewage from the spill entered the surface water drainage system and a watercourse which discharges into Exmouth bathing water, and that elevated levels of ammonia had been found upon testing.
“This incident only reinforces the very little confidence I have left in South West Water and its management of sewage infrastructure in Exmouth,” Mr Reed said in a Facebook post this week.
“Local people are rightly fed up with repeated incidents and deserve clear answers about how and why this has happened.
“The Environment Agency has confirmed that its investigation is continuing and that enforcement action will be taken where appropriate.
“I will be demanding a swift and full investigation into this incident, including what caused the spill, whether it could have been prevented and what action South West Water will now take to make sure it does not happen again.”
A spokesperson for South West Water said: ““We experienced a process failure at Maer Lane Wastewater Treatment Works at around 6am on Wednesday morning, which led to a spill of partially treated flows from the site.
“We have fixed the issue and carried out sampling and a clean up of the area.
“We are sorry this has happened and we are working to make sure it does not happen again.”
The company added it was keeping the Environment Agency updated and that the flows that had left the site had been screened and partially treated.
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