West Wight residents 'horrified' by Colwell Common sewage spill

Torrential rain on Monday has wreaked havoc on a number of Isle of Wight locations, from pubs to residential properties.

Now, faecal matter litters a section of Colwell Common, and the potential health crisis has been ignored by Southern Water, residents claim.

However, Southern Water says it is still trying to establish whether the sewage came from one of its pipes or from a private source.

The green space is frequented by children, families and dog walkers.

Madeira Lane resident, Julie Newell, said no warning signs have been put in place to prevent people walking over the contaminated area, and there is no evidence of a clean up.

Her husband found the mess Tuesday morning and it was soon reported to Southern Water. He said a manhole cover had lifted and raw sewage was spewing onto the grass.

Mrs Newell was quick to contact the Totland and Freshwater Community Facebook Group ­— to warn people of the potential health hazard.

She said there have been many pollution warnings in the bay recently, over effluent seeping into the sea.

"Our sewage system simply cannot cope after one night of heavy rain," said Mrs Newell.

The disgusting state of Colwell Common this week.

"But this isn’t a one-off incident, and yet planning developments continue to be approved here, adding further burden to an already inadequate drainage system."

On Wednesday afternoon, Colwell Common was revisited, and while the sewage had dried up, there was no evidence of a clean-up.

Residents of Madeira Lane have similarly reported sewage backflow in their properties.

One said three manhole covers in her garden lifted up, with tissues, wipes and the like being carried onto her lawn.

She said her neighbours put heavy weights on their manhole covers to stop them rising following heavy rain, but in so doing, they run the risk of overflow coming up their toilets instead.

Bridget Pearce, who lives near Colwell Common, says she was left with both sewage and diesel in her garden once the flooding had subsided.

She noted the smell, and contacted Southern Water, the Environment Agency and even the the fire service, in a bid to remedy the situation.

Many swim all-year-round at Colwell Bay, and are concerned on days following storms, Southern Water's Water For Life app showed sewage release into the bay.

Cllr Chris Jarman said: "There is a long history of discharges along the Totland and Colwell Bay areas.

"Undoubtedly, some of the discharges are from combined overflows that release partially managed waste water, but others are clearly raw sewage.

"The issue has been discussed by the Alliance group at County Hall and We are initiating an Island-wide capacity review of utilities, including drinking water, grey water and sewage, and our MP is supporting a senior meeting with Southern Water to address the problem.

"Local residents have felt abandoned, and I'm aware of multiple exasperated residents 'fighting' to get a response from Southern Water, and others who might help.

"I've spent significant time on the phone with Southern Water myself, and have experienced, first hand, how poor their service is.

A Southern Water spokesperson said: “We’re sorry our response was not quicker.

"There is a possibility that this relates to private sewerage and not our network which caused confusion in our customer call centre.

"A team is conducting an investigation and we will either organise a clean up or liaise with the owner of the assets.”

Southern Water’s reputation has taken a huge battering over a number of issues in recent weeks.

It was fined £90 million for a series of environmental offences along the south coast and in the Solent, and given a two-star “requires improvement” rating by The Environment Agency, one of only two.

• Southern Water fined record £90 million for environmental damage

• Southern Water among worst performers says Environment Agency

It also recently admitted spillage into the Eastern Yar at Alverstone was sewage.

• Environment Agency investigating Alverstone sewage spill

Bob Seely, the Island’s MP, invited the utility firm’s boss to come to the IW to meet him over the issues.

• Isle of Wight MP challenges water boss to face civic leaders