Imagine floods but with human excrement and tampons. Yes, gross, but it’s an actual problem being faced by residents in Par.
“It was swirling round the house. It was gushing and looked like a river,” Lorna Richie told BBC Radio Cornwall, as reported by Cornwall Live. “When the rain stopped and the water receded what looked like just brown water at first left behind human poo and tampons. It smelled and was absolutely disgusting.”
According to the report, the sewer system is unable to handle the amount of sewage during heavy rains, causing manhole covers to blow. And residents are blaming water services company South West Water.
In addition, the utility company is reportedly unavailable during such incidents.
“You can call Highways England at 2am for an emergency and someone will answer, but there’s never anybody at South West Water,” town councillor Roy Taylor was quoted as saying. “You can never get anyone on the phone.”
“We recognise that internal sewer flooding is very distressing and we do everything we can to help customers who experience it and prevent it from happening in the first place,” said a spokesperson for South West Water. “Any call from a customer regarding internal sewer flooding is dealt with as a priority and we aim to visit the customer within a maximum of two hours of receiving their call.”
According to a Pirate FM report, the utility company cited ongoing work towards faster investigation and response times to any issues – upgrading its wastewater vehicle fleet with new jetting equipment and cameras for quicker and more effective probes. South West Water also said it continues to prioritise sewer maintenance and improvements in those areas most at risk of flooding.
The spokesperson added: “We make every effort to help and, in addition to any claim made on household insurance policies, we pay appropriate compensation. Minimising the likelihood of sewer flooding affecting homes and businesses is a key priority for us.”
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