Cheltenham is “within touching distance” of stopping sewage spills into the River Chelt thanks to a new engineering solution.
Serious concerns have been raised over the state of the river in recent times as children have been found playing in the polluted waterway.
But now Severn Trent bosses have agreed to introduce a brand-new engineering solution to tackle the problem.
Cheltenham MP Alex Chalk says he has secured a major river clean-up for the River Chelt and a “cast iron commitment” to reduce overflows by 85 per cent there by the end of next year.
In 2022, Mr Chalk decided to pull his wellies on and track down the main overflow into the River Chelt, using Rivers Trust maps.
Having located it in Charlton Kings, Mr Chalk called a meeting with Severn Trent chiefs on-site to make his concerns crystal clear and to demand an end to this decades-long practice.
As he later said in Parliament, the practice is filthy, completely unacceptable and should have been consigned to history long ago.
He said he wass delighted that Severn Trent listened, and in May 2022 agreed to take action. They gave Mr Chalk a ‘cast-iron commitment’ to clean up the river and pledged as an initial step, to reduce overflows by 85 per cent by the end of 2024.
After the installation of new monitoring equipment and other mitigations, that target was hit in March 2023, eighteen months ahead of schedule.
There have been no spills since February.
Now Severn Trent have gone one step better, kicking off a major engineering scheme involving the laying of a high-capacity pipe to reduce the risk further, he said.
Mr Chalk joined water chiefs and engineers on site in Cheltenham as work begun on the brand-new engineering solution to tackle sewage spills into the River Chelt.
Cheltenham MP Alex Chalk said: “Sewage spills at times of heavy rain have been used as a safety mechanism in Cheltenham to stop loos in our town backing up for decades.
“So I am pleased to have been able to force water bosses to clean up their act as they have listened to my calls for a brand-new engineering solution to tackle sewage spills into the River Chelt.
“When it comes to overflows, it’s important to slay a few myths too. First, they’re not new.
“They act as a safety valve to stop loos backing up at times of heavy rain, and have operated in Cheltenham for several decades.
“Second, the overflow system is not unique to the UK. Similar arrangements are in place across Europe, including in Denmark and Germany.
“Visitors to Belgium can see even signs encouraging tourists not to flush loos at a time of heavy rain, to avoid diluted sewage ending up in the waterways.
“Be that as it may, thanks to the support of Cheltenham people, we are within touching distance of fixing this problem in our town for good – and securing a clean river for future generations of Cheltonians, and wildlife, to enjoy.”
A spokesperson for Severn Trent said they have had detailed discussions with Alex Chalk over the past year and he has made his concerns very clear.
“Although the River Chelt has been getting cleaner over recent years, we now accept we need to go further and faster.
“So we are pleased to announce that we reduced overflows into the River Chelt by 85 per cent by March 2023 and that work has now begun on a brand-new engineering solution to tackle sewage spills into the River Chelt.”
