New Swindon sewage pipe 'could take years' to complete

A sewage pipe which has burst four times in the past two years could take years to replace, a Thames Water executive has warned.

The pipe at the Haydon End pumping station near the Tawny Owl pub in north Swindon broke again on Wednesday evening.

Thames Water was forced to deploy 30 tankers to pump away waste water to prevent flooding to nearby properties.

Raw sewage still ended up in the River Ray when the pipe burst.

Thames Water said it had been working with the Environment Agency to monitor water quality and the impact of the spill on the river ecosystem.

It said it was also oxygenating the water to protect wildlife.

The sewer previously burst in April 2021, August 2022 and again in November 2022.

Nearby residents have been warned the leak might not be repaired until the middle of next week.

Thames Water has committed to laying a new pipe going under the railway tracks and largely following the route of the town's old railway line.

But Richard Aylard, director of sustainability at Thames Water, told Swindon Borough councillors on Thursday the project could take years.

Addressing a meeting of the council's communities and place overview and scrutiny committee, he said discussions with landowners were due to start shortly.

The council, the Environment Agency and Network Rail will also need to give permission for the works.

Mr Aylard told the committee Thames Water was "very upset" about the leak, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, but the situation was now under control.

"We're now pumping the sewage away and it is no longer going into the environment," he said.

Mr Aylard said Thames Water would be expanding and improving its Swindon treatment plant, and the new pipeline from Haydon End would be part of those works.

"(The pipe) will have greater capacity and be more resilient," he said.

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