Severn Trent promises action after South Staffordshire sewage spill
Waterways chiefs have vowed to take action after sewage spilled out across a village road in South Staffordshire because of a burst storage tank and residents complained about bad smells from the site.
A villager walking her dog discovered sewage gushing out from one of the huge containers at the Severn Trent site in Coven Heath.
It caused the closure of Ball Lane, near to the corner of Heath Lane, while contractors worked throughout the dat in March to fix the problem and clear up the mess.
The Severn Trent site currently caters for sewage coming from HMP Oakwood and there have been reports that the sewage from the new i54 business park will also be sent to the facility.
Local residents have claimed that the tanks are not being properly maintained, and they say a similar leakage happened on Christmas Eve.
There are also fears over the site's capacity.
At the time, bosses apologised to residents and said they were looking at solutions. South Staffordshire MP Gavin Williamson has now met Severn Trent bosses to ensure it does not happen again. During the meeting Mr Williamson was told that Severn Trent is spending £20,000 on covers for the tanks to reduce odours.
And moves are being taken to ensure that, if there was another spillage, it would not leak on to public land. Engineers are also carrying out regular checks of the tanks. Mr Williamson said: "The actions that Severn Trent are taking are very welcome to hear and I left the meeting with confidence that the issue is being resolved.
"I am glad that Severn Trent agreed to meet with me and appears to treating this matter with the seriousness that it deserves.
"Spills such as the one that occurred in Coven Heath are, quite simply, not acceptable and can be extremely dangerous."
Fred Barrett, chairman of Coven Heath Community Association, said the mess was found by a 76-year-old resident shortly after 7.45am while she was walking her dog.
He added: "She had walked through it before she realised what it was. It smells terrible.
"People who drive through it end up having to drive around until they have been able to get rid of the mess from their tyres."
Councillor Linda Tomkins, Coven Heath member of Brewood and Coven Parish Council, lives near the site.
She said: "The same thing happened on Christmas Eve. We believe the problem is that the tanks are not being properly maintained. All of the sewage from HMP Oakwood goes there and there is talk that sewage from the i54 plant will go there."
