Fury after houses are swamped by sewage
FRUSTRATED residents are being repeatedly hit by flooding after a drain was illegally connected to a sewer.
Four homes off Rowlands Road, in Summerseat, were flooded by up to six inches of sewage and water on February 9.
Wendy Wakelin’s property has been swamped four times in six months.
“It is horrendous,” said the mum-of-one.
“It took about half an hour for the house to flood.
The sewage system cannot cope with the amount of water going in. There is nothing stopping it and the only place it can go is in our house.”
Mrs Wakelin and her neighbours say the problem started after work on the road in 2017.
Now, every time it rains heavily, the manhole cover spurts ‘three or four feet’ in the air.
That sends water and sewage gushing down the street, as well as creating a hazard for drivers on the steep road.
When Storm Ciara struck, four homes in the area were flooded.
Mrs Wakelin said: “It stinks. I have a little boy and a dog and there is sewage in the house. It needs to be resolved because it is not fair.”
Such was the extent of the damage, Mrs Wakelin and her husband Joel spent two days cleaning up. She says she will need to replace her kitchen and flooring throughout the downstairs of her home.
Next door, Norah and Alan Hibbert were also flooded.
They say there are problems every time it rains heavily, but it was even worse on Sunday due to the intensity of the rain.
“It is devastating,” said Mrs Hibbert. “It has completely ruined our kitchen and carpet in the living room. It is going to be such a big clean-up. We have lived here since 1983 and we never had a problem before they carried out that work.”
Further rain is predicted over the coming days and Mrs Wakelin fears a repeat.
“I am dreading it,” she said.
Residents say they have reported the issues to both United Utilities and Bury Council.
A United Utilities spokesperson said: “We are extremely sorry that residents on Rowlands Road in Summerseat have been experiencing flooding.
“Our investigations have revealed that there is a stream and land drainage that are unlawfully connected to the public sewer in the highway on Rowlands Road. This sewer is not designed to take these additional flows which means that during heavy rainfall there is an increased risk of flooding.
“Removing these connections will improve the flood risk for local residents and we’re working in partnership with Bury Council to find a way to do that.
“We’ve also offered residents a short-term fix to prevent their properties being flooded while this issue is being resolved.”
Bury Council was approached for a comment.