Residents urged to report sewer flooding
Tuesday June 7, 2011
Hammersmith & Fulham Council is urging residents to protect their homes from basement sewer flooding as it emerged that just 1 in 10 are taking up an offer of a free anti-flooding device.
Around 70 residents attended a meeting to discuss basement sewer flooding earlier yesterday (June 6) as Thames Water bosses said they have offered 634 property owners in Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) and Kensington & Chelsea a mini-pumping station worth around £35,000 each.
Despite Thames Water’s offer to install the mini-pumps for free, which are known as flooding local improvement projects (FLIPs), only 60 residents across the two boroughs have signed-up so far.
The FLIPs take three weeks to install and test and prevent raw sewage backing up into low-lying properties during heavy rainfall as well as pumping out waste from inside the property into the public sewers.
The meeting at Hammersmith Town Hall, on Monday (June 6), heard that FLIPs are only the short-term solution to basement sewer flooding for the worst affected properties in the borough. In the longer-term Thames Water needs to increase the capacity of the Counters Creek sewer to protect more homes – which would require funding approval from water-regulator Ofwat.
It is believed that as many as 7,500 properties may be at risk of sewer flooding in H&F, according to Thames Water’s computer modelling.
Cllr Nick Botterill, H&F Council Deputy Leader, says: “The council is working closely with Thames Water on this as we know how awful basement sewer flooding is. Many people are coming forward and protecting themselves but sadly larger numbers appear to be simply ignoring the problem.
“The more people who don’t report basement flooding the more difficult it will be for the rest of us as Thames Water’s case for a long-term solution with Ofwat will be weakened. Again, I urge anyone who has suffered from basement sewer flooding in the borough to contact Thames Water as a matter of urgency.”
To report basement sewer flooding call 0845 920 0800 or visit www.thameswater.co.uk (opens new window).
