West Berkshire: Raw sewage flooding costs council thousands

Tens of thousands of pounds have been spent on helping people in Berkshire cope with raw sewage spilling into their streets, a council has said.

The flooding, which Thames Water previously blamed on high water levels, has affected residents in Hampstead Norreys, Lambourn, Cookham and Newbury.

Portable toilets, signage and employee time has cost West Berkshire Council an estimated £40,000.

But Thames Water said discharges were necessary in some circumstances.

Reported to have started in January, high groundwater and saturated ground has caused lots of water to enter sewers, according to the water company.

"The consequences of not relieving pressure on the system would risk it overflowing into people's homes," a Thames Water spokeswoman said.

But Stuart Gourley, West Berkshire Council's executive portfolio holder for climate action, has urged Thames Water to do more to tackle the issue.

"We should be demanding action strongly from Thames Water, in the first place to invest the tens of millions of pounds required locally to solve their infrastructure challenges," he said.

After some locals said they had been left at "breaking point", West Berkshire Council announced it would start monitoring the amount of sewage pollution more frequently.

Mr Gourley went on: "We've been supporting residents with portaloos, we have put road signs in place where we are seeing foul water flooding on highways.

"All of these things are things that Thames Water won't do and they won't pay for - the council has taken that on because it's the right thing to do to make sure our residents are protected."

More than £10,000 has been spent on the measures. After factoring in employee time, Mr Gourley predicted the actual figure was four times higher.

The councillor called the extra expense "frustrating" but said he did not begrudge any actions taken to support people.

Thames Water admitted the discharges were "unacceptable".

"We are working hard to keep our sewers flowing and to prevent further flooding and are continuing to work closely with local flood groups and the local authority as we continue to investigate where groundwater and surface water is getting into the sewer system," a spokeswoman added.

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