On the weekend several residents alerted me to a stream of sewage emanating from a manhole cover near the Midday Sun pub in Chipstead. It was flowing down Chipstead Valley Road and towards Chipstead Valley Primary School.
This was of course deeply unpleasant for local people, so I immediately contacted Croydon Council, Thames Water and my councillor counterparts across the borough border in Chipstead to see if we could find the problem and ascertain the timescale for repairs.
The below update has today been supplied by Thames Water:
We attended the area on Monday where we found a manhole that appeared to have overflowed. The team identified a blockage in a large length of sewer pipework extending from this location and conducted initial cleaning to clear the pipe.
The line is now free flowing but due to the size and extent of the blockage, the team have raised a request for further cleaning and a survey of the pipework. To allow this to be conducted safely along this busy stretch of road, we will require traffic management to be set up in agreement with the local authority.
I have asked for your report of debris in the road to be noted and looked into, particularly as the debris is some way from the manhole where the initial problem occurred. I have asked for the cleaning schedule to be checked and if the area has not been added already, for it to be included, noting its location as being some way from the manhole cover.
I must advise though that our teams are currently working round the clock, responding to flooding cases across our region due to recent heavy rain and snow. Due to the volume of activity we are prioritising emergencies first, which includes visits to homes that have experienced internal sewer flooding. This means it may take up to 5 days to attend and clean the area and why at this time I am unable to provide a timeframe for any further work.
As mentioned yesterday, I have asked for a full case review to be conducted, and I will share this with you as soon as it is available.
I will keep this blog updated with any pertinent developments and will continue to chase to ensure the survey is carried out as soon as possible.
Photo by Frank Albrecht on Unsplash
