Questions raised at the Annual Parish Meeting
At the Annual Parish Meeting held on 15th May 2024, some questions were raised to Anglian Water which required further assistance from other colleagues, for them to provide an answer. The questions raised by parishioners and the answers received from Anglian Water, are shown below.
What is the capacity of Over WRC?
We have checked the situation regarding Over Water Recycling Centre (WRC) and can confirm that it is currently Dry Weather Flow non-compliant. We will be undertaking investigations into the root cause of this but it is likely to be a result of high levels of rainfall, surface water and infiltration into the sewer network, which has, of course, also been the cause of the sewer network becoming overwhelmed.
We have put forward a proposal to undertake an infiltration survey in the catchment at soon as possible and are awaiting an update in terms of likely timings for this.
Looking ahead, Over WRC has been identified in our Drainage and Wastewater Management Plan (DWMP) Final DWMP (anglianwater.co.uk) as requiring investment to meet growth forecasts. We have identified potential solutions to ensure the WRC is compliant. The medium term (2035) strategy is to increase WRC capacity and the long term plan (2050) is surface water removal within the catchment.
Our plan is designed to be flexible, with regular monitoring, we will continue to work with our stakeholders to make sure the right solutions are carried out at the right time.
The responsibility for implementing enhancement to the WRC to enable an amended flow permit rests entirely with Anglian Water. Our investment programme aims to ensure that the WRC flow permit is sufficient to accommodate new development within the catchment.
We will work with the Environment Agency regarding identified investment and delivery timeframes, however, investment is dependent on the final determination of our Business Plan.
Do we receive money from developers to increase our system?
Infrastructure Charge
Developers are charged a one off Infrastructure Charge for first time connections to water and/or foul water networks. This funding is then managed by Anglian Water and spent invested across the region for growth related network improvements. We invest the infrastructure charge for either on-site solutions or to deliver a strategic catchment scheme. This funding pot is purely for the network and cannot be used to fund Water Recycling Centre (WRC) upgrades.
Surface water network funding
The Infrastructure Charge does not cover the cost of growth related investment for surface water connections. When a risk of flooding is identified due to a proposed new surface water connection we will require3 the developer to pay for us to undertake additional risk assessments. The developer will be required to pay the full cost of any required mitigation for our network to accommodate the surface water flows. This is managed via planning conditions requiring surface water upgrades to be undertaken prior to occupation.
Water Recycling Centres
Developers do not fund WRC improvements; this is paid for via customer bills and is not something a developer can assist with.
We did also promise to provide a briefing on storm overflows in the area, we will follow up with this next week.
Thank you for your patience with this.
Watercourse Mapping Tool
Cambridgeshire County Council have produced a new Watercourse Mapping Tool to identify watercourses across Cambridgeshire, which are colour-coded to help identify who is responsible for their maintenance.
It can be found here.
Drainage and sewage maintenance advice
Anglian Water Storm Overflows Briefing
Parish Meeting Presentation
Anglian Water gave a presentation at the Annual Parish Meeting. Here are the slides they would have presented given the correct equipment.
Meeting with Anglian Water
At the request of the Parish Council, two local expert volunteers have been investigating the drainage in the village. Along with the Chairman and Clerk, they met with a delegation from Anglian Water on th 22nd April.
Here are the notes from that meeting:
Previous Flood Posts
- Ely Flood Resilience Day
- Flood Reporting – Cambridgeshire County Council
- Support for properties affected by Storm Babet
- Community Flood Action Programme – Friday 8th December
- Update from Anglian Water
- Anglian Water – Sewage issues following recent flooding
- Flood Groups Conference – Thursday 21st September 2023
- Flood Resilience Days – Open to all
- How to report a flooding issues to County Council
- St Ives Greenway consultation