By Cllr Jim Frewin
AS PART of modern day life in the UK, we have come to expect that we get clean water from taps and that our waste can simply be flushed away, never to be seen again.
Not it would seem in Shinfield.
Residents across Shinfield are regularly experiencing water supply pressure issues and sewerage flooding.
Water pressure, or no water at all, are regular events and it seems every time it rains heavily, homes
in Three Mile Cross and School Green suffer from raw sewerage flooding.
On each occasion the supplier, Thames Water, schedule a visit and engineers come to look to confirm that it is indeed sewerage in people’s gardens and in local fields.
They then schedule (in some cases) clean up help and then further schedule (if pushed) engineers to look at the issue,
who’s reports have been known to include statements along the lines of ‘it’s difficult to see what the issue is as the water has subsided as its stopped raining, or, we are no longer in the rainy season’.
They are however consistent in reminding residents that they should not use their gardens for
a period (usually 20 to 28 days) after a flood as there might be a health risk.
What does not seem to happened is any form urgency to actually fix the issues.
Some have been regularly ongoing for years, yes that is years.
As a local councillor I have pushed to try and get some urgency.
Our MP Sir John Redwood has also urged for a solution.
Residents have masses of emails, texts and standard response letters but no solution.
Thames Water have even intimated that residents will need to learn to live with the situation as solutions may be difficult and/or expensive and possibly both.
Where does that leave residents? Some would say deep in it.
Residents are left with one big question, ARE WE BEING SERVED, BY THAMES WATER?
Cllr Jim Frewin is an independent councillor for Shinfield South on Wokingham Borough Council
