Welsh Water investigating after ‘pong’ hits villages
AN “AWFUL pong” has plagued two Vale of Glamorgan villages for months.
Welsh Water has installed 13 odour monitors across its Cog Moors wastewater treatment works in the hope of finding the source of a sewage-like smell affecting Dinas Powys and Sully.
Dinas Powys councillor Vincent Driscoll said: “It’s quite regular now. People in Dinas Powys have been complaining like mad for the last couple of months. It’s a pungent stinking smell. I can’t really describe it – it’s horrible.
“There’s also been muck-spreading in some farms nearby, so we can’t pin it down to the waterworks precisely, but Welsh Water seems to have accepted responsibility.”
The water supplier says it does not know “the exact cause” and it “sincerely apologises” to those affected. Recent weeks have seen dozens of comments in a local Facebook group describing the smell as “horrible”, “dreadful” and “an awful pong”.
One woman commented that the smell “can appear all over parts of Dinas at different times / days”.
Mr Driscoll said it seems to be affecting all of Dinas Powys but is “mostly centred on the side closer to the water works”.
People in Sully have also complained. Mr Driscoll and fellow Dinas Powys councillor Stephen Griffiths will meet Welsh Water today to discuss the problem.
A Welsh Water spokesperson said: “We are carrying out thorough investigations at Cog Moors Wastewater Treatment Works to identify and address the odour issues being reported by residents in Sully. As part of this, we’ve installed odour monitors at the site which have identified odour entering the site from our sewer network.
“There are multiple sewer feeds into the site and we have set up odour monitoring on each to identify the source of the odour. In addition, we have also undertaken some maintenance work to nearby manhole chambers to minimise the risk of them releasing any odour from the network.
“At present we do not know the exact cause, but can confirm it is not associated with any releases from our combined storm overflow. While we continue to investigate the source we have put some odour mitigation measures in place which should help reduce the odour level. “
Welsh Water added it has sent teams to “walk the wider area” and liaise with locals to identify the source.
“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience this is causing residents and appreciate their patience whilst our teams look to find the root cause of the odours,” the spokesman said.