‘Sewage river’ near kids play area after manhole leak
Crews worked overnight to fix drain blockage
An overflowing manhole caused sewage to flow into a park towards a children’s play area. The leak, near Maidstone Leisure Centre in Mote Park, created a stream of waste down the road in a car park and onto the grass. A giant puddle also formed causing the pathway into the main park to be taped off from either side.
The waste was seen running down in the direction of the new Mote Park Outdoor Adventure attraction which is set to have its official opening ceremony today (Thursday) and is part of a £4.3m regeneration of the park. A resident of Birchtree Way, who made the discovery on Monday while walking his dog, said he was ankle deep in the human waste.
The man who did not want to be named said: “It is appalling. There was fluid all over the floor and it went up to my ankles. “It was trickling down near the play area like some kind of sewage river.
“You could smell it from far away and there were children playing right next to it.”
The leak happened just hours after the park was used for Ramblin Man festival which saw thousands of visitors attend.
The leak was fixed within 24 hours.
A Southern Water spokesman said: “The cause was found to be a partially blocked sewer. Our teams successfully managed to stop the flows into the lake by blocking up a drainage culvert. “A small amount of wastewater did reach the lake on Monday morning. Due to the location of the sewer by the leisure centre this was highly diluted and appears to have had minimal impact on the lake.
“We’re continuing to investigate the cause of the blockage.” The Environment Agency were also on hand and carried out an environmental check. A spokeswoman for Maidstone Borough Council apologised for any inconvenience.
Last year heavy rainfall caused sewage pipe to burst in the park and forced it to close.
People were warned to stay away from the water and all water sports activities were cancelled as repairs were made in May 2018.
This incident and heavy snow during ‘Beast from the East’ resulted in construction delays to the new adventure zone which features a high rope climbing area.It was meant to be ready in Spring 2018, but only opened for use on May 4 this year.