The council have taken the emergency measure of capping off the sewage pipe and filling in the hole, I think there are several possible problems here, one being that the condition of the pipe suggested that the sewage would just leak out a bit further along, another is that there is a sluice just like the one that was leaking raw sewage into the harbour to the west a bit and that obviously needs investigating as well.They were both constructed for the same purpose, flushing the western undercliff outfall pipe and were both connected together within the same system.
The problem for me is that at one time, once I knew that the council were aware of the problem, I would have just dropped the issue assuming that they would do all of the appropriate things to protect the public.
Now both with KCC and TDC as I have pointed out public safety issues to them in the past which still remain unresolved – an example being the failure to set a weight limit for vehicles using the footpath, adjacent to the cliff, top side, behind the Pleasurama development – I find I now have to pursue this sort of thing until I have some sort if written answer confirming their intent. Frankly this is embarrassing and time consuming for all involved, but I don’t see any other course of action as contact with raw sewage can kill people.
Obviously to inspect this maze of old sewers and surface drainage pipes and resolve the safety issues will be an expensive business, something that I expect will make things even more difficult given the present economic climate.
The new outfall site for the Pleasurama roof drainage pipe has mostly been excavated, so far without problems.
There's been a problem with sewage in that corner since at least the 1940's and probably before that! The idea of filling the hole with concrete's a good-un...NOT! I'm glad I don't own any of those adjacent properties 'cos the oo-nasty's going to pop up somewhere else soon!!!
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