This update only affects residents in the lower end of Hughenden Valley in the village hall aea.

You may have noticed TW and Lanes Drains vehicles have been putting in an appearance quite frequently over the past few weeks.

There is a back sewer that runs through Matt Hopkins’ field that faces onto Valley Road. The sewer then runs along the back of the row of the white cottages through to Boss Ln where there is a junction with the Boss Ln sewer and the one that runs along the back of the houses from Herrison House. The Boss Ln sewer then joins the main sewer in Valley Rd.

Matt had experienced a sewage leak in his field from one of his inspection pits before Christmas and again in January. It has taken several visits to resolve this – a blockage of some sort. Subsequently, one of the white cottages on Valley Rd has been suffering considerable discharge of sewage over a prolonged period in the last few weeks. The garden is seriously flooded but repeated visits by TW have not resolved this problem. Their efforts have essentially diagnosed a ‘Hydraulic Overload’ (too much water) whereas we consider this to be a blockage of some sort.

It is clear that this back sewer is mostly full and what’s more is that this fullness appears to run up to the main sewer and then along to the bus stop opposite the village hall. We are pushing TW to start tankering and investigate what is going on here. They are promising to respond. Our main concern is for them to get a handle on this and ensure that the initial sewage spill is properly resolved and that no other residents are affected. Fingers crossed they get their act together on this.

I have checked my front drive inspection pit this morning and this is quite empty, which is how it should be and suggests the main sewer is running normally. However, this does not accord with TW reporting that the level of the sewer opposite the village hall is high. It may be worth checking the level in your inspection pit.

Rgds

Paul