Concerned resident voices concern over sewage overspill near public walkway
Thursday, 9 February 2012
Sewage flowing from a manhole which has covered a section of public footpath near the car park at Cranny Bridge, Hospital Road, Omagh.
AN OMAGH resident has expressed his frustration over a spillage of raw sewage seeping into a burn at a public walkway in the town.
According to Mr Tony Neill, of Pinewood Avenue, the overspill is coming from a manhole at a public footpath that leads onto Omagh's Riverside Walk Way and Cranny Bridge car park, and into a burn which flows into the Camowen River.
Speaking to the Tyrone Constitution about the issue, Mr Neill said the overspill has been a reoccurring problem in the area for several months now.
Calling on the relevant agencies to resolve the problem immediately, Mr Neill, said: "This has been going on for a long time now and several complaints have been about it before. The sewage is coming up through the manhole and seeping into a burn that leads into the Camowen River. It is just an awful mess.
“We have notified the Rivers Agency in the past about this, but they say it is not their problem. The Water Service were then alerted to it and they sent out a Turbo Clean system which did seem to stop the overspill for a while, but now its back again.
“I just think this really needs to be highlighted as there seems to be very little being done about it."
Meanwhile, responding to the latest concerns, a spokesperson for the NI Water Service, confirmed they had been made aware of the issue.
“NI Water can confirm it was alerted to a fault at the pumping station at Cranny Bridge. Staff attending the scene dealt with a pump fault and stopped the overflow from a nearby manhole. This pump has now been programmed for replacement and work will be completed as soon as possible," said the spokesperson.
“In the interim, NI Water will continue to respond to any alarms raised at the station as quickly as possible, but we would also like to ask for the public's assistance to help keep our sewers, pumping stations and treatment works running clear by not flushing inappropriate items which can result in flooding and sewage leaks.
“Many people genuinely don't realise the impact and damage flushing sanitary items, baby wipes and grease, oil and fat down the sewers can have.
“Further information on our 'Bag it and Bin it' campaign can be found on our website, www.niwater.com, where a leaflet is available for download."
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