I won’t rest until sewage stops flowing down the street
Councillor pledges to keep fighting for a solution
A village councillor has vowed to stop at nothing to ensure a major flooding problem that has led to residents living among human waste is sorted out.
For well over a year, people living in Mimosa Road, Bridge of Weir, have battled to get a sewage issue resolved which is causing excrement and toilet tissue to spew out of the drains and onto the street.
Councillor Natalie Don, who represents the village, has been dealing with complaints about the grim situation - which Scottish Water has repeatedly promised to fix - for months.
As residents continue to endure the rotten stench and filthy water streaming past their homes, the firm is coming under increasing pressure to sort it out once and for all.
Councillor Don has pledged to continue calling out those responsible if the situation isn’t rectified urgently.
She said: “Residents have been contacting me about this for months and Scottish Water has repeatedly told me this will be fixed.
“Staff then tried to pass the buck to Renfrewshire Council, confusing residents in the process, but it has been made clear now this is a Scottish Water’s fault.
“This really cannot go on. My constituents are living in excrement and waste.
“My repeated calls for Scottish Water to take action will hopefully put an end to this once and for all. However, if this is not rectified, residents of Mimosa Road have my assurance I will continue to condemn the actions of Scottish Water and explore what actions to take next.”
Scottish Water has said a damaged section of wastewater pipe is leading to the ongoing problem.
The firm is having to temporarily overpump the damaged part of the sewer to enable the wastewater network to continue operating, but this is sometimes causing it to back up and spill out of the road gullies.
Bosses have apologised for the frustration caused by the long-standing issue and have insisted they are working to find a solution.
It is understood contractors are due to start repairs next week, with works set to last for around four weeks.
A Scottish Water spokesman said: “Our contractors are aiming to be on-site next week to carry out essential repair work on a collapsed section of wastewater pipe in Mimosa Road.
“An ecology survey is being carried out to assess any impact on trees or wildlife and help us finalise our plans for this work. Stakeholders and residents will be kept informed.
“We are temporarily over-pumping the damaged part of the sewer and our contractors are attending the site daily to check the pumps, as well as any clean-up should this be required. Over-pumping enables the local wastewater network to continue operating by by-passing the damaged sewer.
“To help reduce the risk of chokes and spills, we continue to urge people to flush only pee, poo, and toilet paper down toilets and not to pour fat, oil, and grease down sinks.
“Our contractor Kier attended the site on Tuesday following a pump failure and a clean-up of the area was carried out. Additionally, Kier attended the site on Wednesday to carry out a further cleanup of the area.
“An urgent site investigation was carried out on Thursday to establish if there are any further issues with the infrastructure that may be causing an increase in spills.
“We appreciate this has been unpleasant and frustrating for our customers and we apologise for the inconvenience this has caused. We are working as quickly as possible to deliver a solution.”
This really cannot go on. My constituents are living in excrement and waste