Residents of a Bermondsey council estate were shocked to find sewage bubbling up into their gardens – and even up through a toilet after an underground drain collapsed.
One couple living on the Southwark Park Estate noticed a relatively small amount of water coming up through their garden on November 14 last year and told Southwark Council. Council officers visited but the problem continued – and got worse over Christmas and the new year, until the couple’s garden was completely flooded with brown, foul-smelling sewage water by this week.
Joanne told the News that the strong smell of sewage had got into her house – and because it was coming from outside, she was unable to open a window to air out the property. On one occasion, water even bubbled up from her toilet.
By this week, the problem had spread to neighbouring properties, with the gardens next door also flooded with waste water. Tanika, who lives with her young daughter and son, who has special needs, said the fact her garden was now inaccessible was a real problem for him, because he benefits from being outside. Tanika said that she had also had toilet paper come out of her drainpipe.
Pat, who also lives nearby on the estate, has also had her garden flooded with sewage. She said: “It’s horrendous – we shouldn’t have to live like this… it isn’t fair.”
Carol, a neighbour a few doors down, pointed out that some people on the estate had problems with their health, and the standing sewage water could not be good for anyone. “We’ve got one virus to live with already,” she said. “We don’t need any others.”
There appeared to be some uncertainty about whether the pipe was the responsibility of the council or Thames Water. Thames Water staff visited the site on Thursday (January 21) and a spokesperson for the company said they sympathise with residents, but because it was a private section of pipe, the council had to deal with it.
Council officers have since got rid of the standing water and will repair the drain, although there is no clear timeline for this work.
Cllr Stephanie Cryan, cabinet member for council homes and homelessness, said: “This is clearly a really unpleasant situation for our residents so we are glad to have found the source of the problem. The collapsed drain will be repaired, preventing any further issues. The surface water has been cleared and our team will return to make good on any areas affected, including replacing the top soil and deep cleaning the gardens.
“We cleared blockages on several other occasions after residents contacted us. Sometimes this was during the day or out-of-hours so different teams and contractors were responding over the festive period. We can only apologise for not recognising that the issue was persistent and required further investigation sooner.”