Over the weekend our Chairman Tim Prater picked up on letters going out in the Enbrook Valley area to some houses regarding misconnections to the sewer, and requiring alterations.
We’ve been in touch with Southern Water this morning to get a clearer picture of the issue. Below is the information we have to date. We’re asking for more information from them, but thought it helpful to post what we have right now:
“Thank you for taking the time to get in touch this morning. I can fully appreciate any concern, the discovery of misconnections on Brambley Crescent has caused the residents affected.
“The Kent misconnections team have been surveying the Enbrook Valley catchment for 12 months now, finding 27 properties with misconnected pipework and 71 individual facilities that all connect to the surface water sewer which then outfalls into the Enbrook Stream.
“Misconnections are a problem across the Southern Water region and the UK. They can occur when moving facilities around the house, for instance when moving a washing machine into a utility room or garage. If correct checks are not done, the surface water drain can be mistaken for the foul sewer.
“Building an extensions could result in a misconnection if a builder doesn’t check the layout of the drains properly. However, in some cases the property has always been misconnected and the homeowner unknowingly inherited the issue when they first took over the property.
“The team that have been proactively surveying the area are David Booth & Darko Zlatarek. David, Darko and I are contactable Monday to Friday, should you or the homeowners have any questions or need support. We can arrange visits to demonstrate the issue or meet contractors when attending to scope the work needed to address the problem.
“I would encourage each property owner to make enquiries with multiple, trusted local contractors to acquire quotes. Then keep David, Darko or myself updated. I appreciate that it’s a less than ideal time to be told about a problem of this nature, so we are flexible in the time needed to rectify the issue. All that I ask is that we are kept updated with the progress being made.
“I completely understand that this news has come as a shock. Nobody knowingly wants to cause an issue like this to the local environment.
“Please get in touch if you have any questions or I / we can assist in anyway.
“Kind regards
“Rob Butson
“Misconnection Team Manager”
We understand the letters sent to residents have the contact details for Rob / David / Darko. Those affected are encouraged to contact them as soon as possible.
connect-right-leaflet