Sewage Saga

This may bore a small proportion of the Sherborne Brook Support Group, but I imagine it is of some interest to most of you. I think it is important I keep you up to date. I apologise if you are overwhelmed by emails from me. Many of you have expressed an interest in these concerns about the sewage treatment works where Sherborne's sewage is treated.

Firstly, a quick reminder. Our interest is because the sewage from Sherborne is pumped to the Bourton on the Water Sewage Treatment Works(STW). This STW has a history of discharging untreated or insufficiently treated sewage into the River Windrush, which then flows back past Sherborne. So it is your sewage that you pay to be treated, which is being released in apparently significant quantities back into the Windrush, into our local environment and ecology. I think it's right that we, as the Sherborne Brook Support Group, express an interest in this environmental matter. And quite a number of you have let me know you support this engagement.

In January, February and March this year, I was monitoring the discharge of sewage from the sewage treatment works and noticed that during the first 10 weeks of the year, 1,000 hours of discharge of sewage into the River Windrush occurred. This is despite the fact that Thames Water have spent £millions on upgrading the sewage treatment works. The upgrade to the sewage treatment works was originally due to be complete in 2021 or 2022. We're now in the summer of 2026, and it's not finished yet. It has slipped by a year every year since the programme began. That tells a story. It also suggests we should be sceptical of dates given by Thames Water.

During March, I raised the issue with the Windrush Catchment Partnership. This is a local group of stakeholders interested in the Windrush catchment. We sit on that partnership as steering committee members. Having provided some questions in advance of a quarterly meeting in March, it was disappointing that Thames Water failed to provide anyone, as they normally do, to the partnership meeting to answer those questions. The publicly available information about Thames Water's activity at the Bourton STW is pretty vague, and I'm being polite.

I had assumed that Thames Water would read the minutes of that meeting and respond. I was disappointed when that didn't occur

I was looking forward to the next quarterly meeting that occurred this morning, Tuesday the 21st of July, where I could raise the matter again. However, once again, Thames Water declined to provide someone to the Catchment Partnership meeting. Being frustrated by this, I engaged with the Thames Water catchment coordinator directly and sent them an email at the weekend repeating the questions.

Developments.

1. Yesterday afternoon, the catchment coordinator phoned me directly. It was a largely unsatisfactory conversation (I'm being polite again). The Catchment Coordinator was unable to answer any of the questions I'd raised and directed me, rather than go through the Windrush Catchment Partnership meeting, to submit a formal EIR data request directly to Thames Water. There were aspects of the conversation that I found very frustrating. I even sensed but cannot prove obfuscation. I certainly got the impression that our issue was not a priority for Thames Water.
2. The Windrush Catchment Partnership (WCP) quarterly meeting occurred today, and I raised my concerns formally with the fellow members of the partnership. A significant number expressed direct and strong support. The Bourton STW and its release and discharge of sewage affects a significant proportion of WCP membership as a priority issue. We're not alone in this. The discussion on Thames Water and its attendance with the WCP meeting and its supply of data was addressed and minuted.
3. This afternoon, then, I constructed a detailed data information request and submitted it to Thames Water at 16:55 today. At this link is the data I requested. The request, as you can see, should you be interested, was very carefully constructed and detailed.

Thames Water have 20 working days in which to respond and may request an additional 20 days if they consider the request complex. I'll let you know any outcomes I get. Of course, you will know from looking at the news that it seems likely that the new government may address the issue of Thames Water and reconfigure it in some form or other, maybe even in matter of days . That won't take away the problem, whatever we think of the politics. So when you flush, remember where it might or might not go and the failing organisation that is responsible for what you flush away. Remember too, Thames Water is owned by overseas investment entities that are trying to make a profit from the money you pay, whatever it is they're doing with the contents of your loo.

Let me know if you have any thoughts on this matter. If any of you want some more background material on this matter, such as the Thames Water supposed plan for the Bourton Sewage Treatment Works. I've got that and plenty more.