Firm issues unreserved apology for foul stench THAMES WATER INSISTS SITUATION WILL NOT ARISE AGAIN
THAMES Water has issued an apology for the foul odour from sewage sludge kept at Camberley sewage treatment works that engulfed the town last summer.
The utility company said in a statement that it “would like to apologise to everyone who was affected by abnormal levels of odour from our sewage treatment works on Riverside Way, last summer.
“While odour can never be eliminated from wastewater treatment, the smell from our site last summer was unacceptable.
“We know how much this affected the local community, and we apologise unreservedly for it”.
Thames Water has also given assurances that the problem will not happen again as sewage will not be stored at the same location, stating: “We have decommissioned the emergency sludge storage tanks on site, so that they cannot be used to store sewage sludge again.
“We have also looked at the resilience of our sludge treatment facilities across all our sites and have a plan to invest in them, so that backlogs of untreated sludge do not occur in the future.
“You can view our proposed investment plans here: https:// www.thameswater.co.uk/medialibrary/home/about-us/regulation/ our-five-year-plan/pr24-2023/ bioresources.pdf”.
Cllr Shaun Macdonald, the leader, of Surrey Heath Borough Council, said: “Extensive campaigning from the council overall, and ward councillors specifically, supported by relevant officers, has successfully ensured that Thames Water will not store excess sewage sludge at their Camberley sewage treatment works again. Thames Water have also now formally apologised to all the residents affected by the unpleasant odour over the summer.
“As a council we will continue to campaign strongly on the issues that affect our residents, and we encourage Thames Water to make proper amends shortly, to the community for a lost summer, by supporting some local projects.”