The monthly Full Council meeting has a standing item to provide an update on the Flood Forum. Here is an extract from the March Full Council Meeting draft minutes.
The Chair noted the significant problems with sewage throughout the Lambourn Valley. The villages of Great Shefford, East Garston, Eastbury, Lambourn, and Upper Lambourn (for ease of description, the Upper Lambourn Valley) all suffer from sewer flooding by groundwater infiltration, and all are in the catchment of the East Shefford Sewage Treatment Works. Thames Water treats this catchment as a discreet area with its own groundwater management Plan.
Many people, for many years, have been trying to tackle Thames Water in an attempt to bring about some improvement. The Lambourn Valley Flood Forum has been making strong representation, however, as the name suggests, the LVFF’s main focus has been on flooding issues.
The Chairs of the Parish Councils of Great Shefford, East Garston and Lambourn (including Eastbury, Upper Lambourn, Woodlands St Marys and Lambourn Woodlands) have agreed to come together to form the Upper Lambourn Valley Sewage Action Group.
The group’s prime objective will be to secure clear sewers and a clean river, and its prime target to progress these issues is Thames Water.
The group will also be supported by our District Councillors, Clive Hooker and Howard Woollaston. It will also be inviting a number of committed individuals with specific knowledge and experience from each parish to join the group to gather evidence of sewage problems in order to present the strongest possible case to TW, the Environment Agency and other relevant organisations.
The Chair acknowledged that there are no quick fixes and that realistic expectations of what can and cannot be achieved with Thames Water given its current precarious financial state. However, all efforts will be applied to seeking solutions.
The Lambourn Valley Sewage Action Group commits to updating the council and public and seeking feedback as the campaign develops.
