All I really want at the moment is for it to stop raining. We have had record levels of rainfall throughout the Winter, which followed a pretty wet summer, and according to measurements taken at the Vernham Dean borehole groundwater levels are three metres or so higher than they were in 2014 when a significant chunk of Romsey flooded.
Throughout the Test Valley there remains a significant tankering operation in progress, including at Longparish, King’s Somborne, in the Anna Valley, St Mary Bourne etc Which is why this week I met the Pan Parish Forum alongside Southern Water to hear about some of the work being done as part of the pathfinder project to seal sewers and private laterals to prevent groundwater from infiltrating the foul drains. The project has clearly been worthwhile and prevented huge amounts of uncontaminated groundwater from becoming part of the sewerage system, but there is a great deal more to be done, and only a small area has so far been tackled.
I have also been at Fullerton to see the treatment works in operation and hear about the challenges faced there in terms of capacity. One of the big challenges is the strain put on the whole system by the ingress of groundwater and ]surface water drainage. Which is why there needs to be a focus on how we address run off from rooves, driveways etc. There is a great project, part funded by the Department for Education, to help schools divert the run off from their roof spaces go to swale gardens, planters etc. I have seen that in action at some schools in Hampshire, but all of our school buildings, leisure centres, industrial units etc have large roof areas, which collect water at an alarming rate and an astonishing number send the water into the foul drains instead of into soakaways.
One of the big issues at Fullerton was the amount of “rag” collected in a massive skip at the very start of the filtration process. I know the Government has recently consulted on banning wet wipes, although I am far from convinced there needed to be yet another consultation. A 2021 call for evidence showed 96% of the public were in favour of banning the types of wet wipe which contain plastic and cause the biggest single cause of blockages in the sewerage system. The skip at Fullerton was a sight to behold, with enormous quantities of wipes, sanitary products, nappies, underpants and even Lego. There was a very clear message that nothing other than pee, poo and paper should go into the loo, but clearly that is not getting through to all of us flushers! The consultation on banning wipes closed in November but I am not sure we have yet seen the outcome of it. I tend to the view of the House of Lords (they don’t get everything wrong) that the Government just needs to crack on and ban them. They have been saying they are going to do so since about 2017, there could be time to squeeze in a bit of legislation on that before the General Election is called. I remember how quickly they acted to put in place the plastic bag tax, the ban on plastic microbeads, drinking straws and stirrers. The same could be done for wet wipes and we would be able to point out progress, especially in fewer clogged drains.
I have also met the Police and Crime Commissioner this week specifically to talk about rural crime. That comes swiftly after the news that a man has been charged with the awful dumping of wild animal carcasses at Broughton Village Shop, Awbridge School and in Longstock. Hopefully we will see that case come to court relatively quickly and it was great to be able to have a very prompt update from the PCC.