From Tony Konieczny, HVRA Chairman

Dear Resident,

This afternoon, David Carroll, our District and County Councillor, Roger Hewitt, resident and Civil Engineer with experience of waste water infrastructure, and myself, as Chairman of the Hughenden Valley Residents Association, had an on-site meeting with a TW engineer. It was a positive meeting.

I was already aware that the houses from the bus stop to Boss Lane were not benefitting from the pump installed yesterday by the Surgery. It was explained that the sewer from these houses flowed north to Boss Lane, then went through 180 degrees to join the Valley Road sewer. The new pump is only 4″, so the engineer suggested upgrading this to a 6″ in an attempt to suck the sewage from the dog-leg. Apparently the success or otherwise of this action would be very quickly evident.

Plan B is to leave the 6″ pump working and to place the 4″ pump in Boss Lane on the grass verge at the corner, where there is a manhole. The sewage would be pumped into the Boss Lane stream. It would be necessary to carve a channel for the exit pipe across the road. The upgrade to a 6” pump is planned to happen quickly. Perhaps someone in the vicinity could update me on progress.

The pumping has already stopped the waterfall from Spring Rising falling into the ditch and thence to the stream.

Clean up will be started when the water levels allow and the pumps will be retained as long as they are needed.

On a daily basis, a TW man will take water samples from Boss Lane, the footpath in the field by the pumping station and from the stream further down towards Wycombe. The results will be sent to the Environment Agency.

This is the short term solution. The longer term solution will require some serious money, because it is not only our network that needs upgrading. Perhaps HS2 could be scrapped and the money spent upgrading the sewers of this country.

We still have work to do with compensation and the drive for a long term solution, but we are making progress. Not ideal, but the residents in the affected houses can now get some sleep and go to the loo – things we take for granted until disaster happens. That they can now do this has made all the effort worthwhile.

I should like to thank Roger Hewitt for his intervention with TW and our MP, David Lidington, for the very supportive letter he wrote to TW.

Kind Regards,
Tony