'It stinks!' - Sewage leak at South Tyneside beauty spot sparks demand for action
‘The smell of sewage was awful at first and has lingered.’
Environmental campaigners have condemned a spill of sewage into a South Tyneside beauty spot waterway – and warned it could be a sign of worse to come.
They fear liquid waste from households may end up in the River Don and then the Tyne due to a leak from a cracked pipe six-foot underground in Springwell Park, Jarrow.
Diluted waste – but not solids – filtered about 10m from the combined pipe through soil and into Monkton Burn, which flows into the Don.
A layer of fungal scum formed on top of a stretch of about 150m of water, despite a Northumbrian Water response team laying bales of hay in a bid to soak it up.
The incident was reported to the water giant on Wednesday night and the source of the leak identified, with repair work taking place throughout the following day.
Workers remained on site on Friday, September 18, and a Northumbrian Water team also entered the stream to take samples for analysis – and the Environment Agency was alerted.
Northumbrian Water confirmed it believed heavily diluted wastewater had entered the watercourse after passing through the surrounding ground.
Environmentalists say the incident highlights what they claim is the borough’s ageing and creaking sewerage network and confirms their belief that plans for new house building will only worsen the situation.
The Save the Fellgate Green Belt Working Group, which has campaigned to stop house building at Fellgate, Jarrow, said the warning signs were clear.
Spokesman Dave Green, 63, said: “Enough is now enough. We do not have the infrastructure needed for all these planned new homes.
“It seems that something really big with the sewerage network will have to happen before they wake up and realise this can’t continue.
“I believe this incident shows that the system is struggling to cope now, let alone with what it will face with all these houses set to be built.
“I was in the park when I noticed something was wrong and I contacted Northumbrian Water but I think someone else had already been in touch.
“There were teams of water firm people down here on Thursday, and a digger was even brought in.”
Mr Green added: “The smell of sewage was awful at first and has lingered. I’m especially concerned about this sewage being in the waterway and likely reaching the Don and the Tyne.
“It’s awful – you can see a film of sewage at the top of the water over many metres. They’ve put hay bales down, which are clearly not working.
"I will be asking for an investigation into it as the whole system in my opinion and for want of a better word 'stinks'."
Northumbrian Water said the issue was a fracture in one of its combined sewer mains and repairs had been carried out immediately on Thursday.
A spokesperson added: “Unfortunately, some heavily diluted wastewater from the damaged pipe is believed to have entered the watercourse after passing through the surrounding ground.
“We are working with the Environment Agency to minimise any impact, and we are carrying out regular sampling in the area.
“We understand that this is not very pleasant for those enjoying the park, and we would like to apologise for this.”
The Environment Agency confirmed its officers attended and had noted a strong odour and a thick layer of sewage fungus lining the burn, which was then sampled for testing.
It said: “Initial investigations established that the pollution was likely caused by a broken sewer pipe and Northumbrian Water were notified.
“As the pollution was entering the burn through a road culvert, we have also informed the council of the ongoing work that may be required to fix the damage and we will continue to monitor progress.”
South Tyneside Council said responsibility for the incident lay with Northumbrian Water.