Sewage discharged into River Avon in Salisbury
A blocked sewer burst during the weekend
Last updated 1st Nov 2022
Sewage has been discharged into the river Avon in Salisbury, the Environment Agency and Wessex Water have both confirmed.
It happened due to a blocked sewer which burst during the weekend.
It caused sewage to spill into the river, where construction to build Salisbury River Park has begun.
The Environment Agency says it's working with Wessex Water and tell us the sewage has been contained, while staff have been sent to clean up the pollution on site.
A spokesperson from the Environment Agency said:
"The Environment Agency and Wessex Water has contained sewage which was discharging into the River Avon in Salisbury from a burst, blocked sewer.
"Fortunately, this area had already been cleared of fish for construction of the River Park and pollution is being removed. We are monitoring the situation.
"Our staff are onsite investigating more efficient ways to remove the pollution, including the option of removing silt before pumping it to the nearest foul sewer."
Wessex Water declined to answer how much or for how long sewage was discharged into the river.
The water company says it will investigate whether something was improperly disposed into the sewer which might have caused the blockage, using CCTV surveys.
A Wessex Water spokesperson said:
“During the weekend we discovered a blockage in our sewer, which caused a discharge of wastewater that made its way to the site of the Environment Agency’s flood alleviation scheme on the River Avon in Salisbury.
“Extensive water quality sampling has taken place and we are working with the Environment Agency to ensure any environmental impact is minimised.
“We are using CCTV surveys to investigate what happened and looking into whether something might have been improperly disposed of into the sewer network causing the blockage.”