Westerleigh odour update

The following update has been agreed with all involved following the most recent meeting of the Odour Working Group:

Westerleigh Parish Council’s Odour Working Group met on 16^th November following an increase in reported smells in the late summer. All reports are logged and when analysed the data showed a general pattern of smell reports building up through a week, with most reports on late Thursday and Friday. However, it was noted that there have been no reports since early September.

The Management Team at Tulip advised that since March of this year they have carried out a daily ‘sniff test’, which they record in a log. Since identifying an effluent tank filter failure in the summer, Tulip has invested around £8,000 in a new five stage filtration system to replace the old one. The filters change colour to warn that they need replacing and because there are multiple filters, even if one does fail it should not lead to odours escaping.

Wessex Water has received no reports of occurrences directly. Dosing is continuing at Kidney Hill pumping station and nothing has changed. They again confirmed that there is adequate flow capacity within the sewer system.

Whilst the situation again seems to be improving, it is vital that local residents report any odour occurrences as they happen. If it is reported immediately, persons can be on site very quickly to try to establish the cause. When reporting any odours please be descriptive as possible and as accurate as you can about the time and location.

For all smells call:

Environment Agency’s 24 hours a day 365 days a year freephone number 0800 80 70 60.

If you think it may be coming from the abattoir, please also call:

Tulip Ltd 0117 957 1919

If you think it may be coming from the sewers, please also call:

Wessex Water 0845 600 4 600

You might also like to inform:

Westerleigh Parish Clerk  Fiona Thornton on 01454 864433 or email westerleighpc@btinternet.com

District Councillor Claire Young on 01454 864086 or email claire.young@southglos.gov.uk

Reporting odours in Westerleigh village

The bad airborne odours in Westerleigh village last week appear to have been related to a filter failure at Tulip. The filter was replaced but there has been one further report earlier this week. The Environment Agency officer who has been dealing with the case has been on leave and will be sending Claire Young the formal report on her visit to Tulip that she made at the end of July on her return.

It is very important for those involved to learn of problems as soon as possible, so that they can try to identify the source. If the smell appears to be coming from Tulip, please call 0117 957 1919. If you also call the Environment Agency on 0800 80 70 60 it may be possible for someone to make a visit to the village if it is during office hours.

Odour problems in Westerleigh village this week

Claire Young has received a high number of complaints about a bad odour in Westerleigh village this week. On Wednesday she experienced it for herself and was able to confirm that it was the same as the one when she accompanied Penny Gadd of the Environment Agency on an odour survey in the village one evening some weeks ago. As then, the source was identified as a failed effluent filter at the abattoir. Tulip took delivery of a complete new Carbon Filtration unit at 10.30 this morning and had installed it by 12.00. Tulip are monitoring closely and hope that will resolve the problem.

In preparation for the next meeting of the working group on 18th April, Wessex Water have installed monitoring equipment in six locations in the sewers and have already downloaded their first set of data for analysis. Claire has been in discussions with the South Glos drainage engineer. No problems have been found with the rain and foul water systems interacting, but during the investigation an officer spotted that tree roots were blocking the connection from the foul sewer to a vent column that is supposed to vent the sewer. Wessex Water have fixed this.

Investigations are ongoing into a problem on Westerleigh Road, where an overflowing cesspit has contaminated a ditch. This may have caused localised problems but is unlikely to cause odours down in the village. A blocked private drain connection has been fixed in Old Mill Close, but there continue to be complaints of a smell there and in other locations around the village. Please keep reporting your issues to Claire and the Parish Clerk, as well as to Wessex Water (0845 600 4 600) and Tulip (0117 957 1919) as appropriate.

Working group to act on smell

Westerleigh Parish Council and South Gloucestershire Councillor Claire Young have set up a working group with Tulip (the owners of the abattoir), Wessex Water and the Environment Agency to tackle the foul smells that have been affecting Westerleigh village.

Claire after the initial meeting of the working
group, which was hosted by Tulip

The group had an initial meeting on Monday 28th February to pool data and agree the next steps. It has not been possible to identify the source or sources of the smells from the logging done so far, so more extensive, widespread monitoring will be carried out before the group meets again in April. It’s very important that you keep letting Claire and the Parish Council know about any incidents as well as reporting them to Tulip and Wessex Water. Please give as much information as you can, such as:

• Date and time
• Exact location where you can smell it
• Whether you can smell the odour inside your house or only outside
• Whether it seems to be coming from any particular point, for example, around a drain cover or whether you can simply smell it in the air around you
• A description of the smell – is it like rotten eggs, human sewage, rotting vegetation or something else?
• What the weather is like at the time and what it had been like before the smell occurred – is it raining heavily, has there been a long period of dry weather beforehand?

Don’t forget that if gases are coming back into your house via the drains, South Gloucestershire Council’s Environmental Health team can provide monitoring tubes to test for Hydrogen Sulphide (the gas that smells of rotten eggs).

Claire and the Parish Council will keep working with residents to get this problem resolved.

Ram Hill foul drain smells fixed?

Claire Young recently wrote to Wessex Water about foul smells coming from the drains on Ram Hill. They investigated and identified a fault at Henfield Sewage Pumping Station. This fault has led to the contents being kept for long periods at the site and in the rising main that discharges near Ram Hill Business Park, which has caused septicity and ultimately the foul odour.

Wessex Water have now rectified the fault, which they say should resolve the smell problem. If this is not the case, please contact Claire Young on 01454 864086 or claire.young@southglos.gov.uk