Row between couple and water firm over sewage leak
BBCA couple who had raw sewage enter their home after prolonged rainfall have said their sewerage system was not to blame.
Marc Slegg and Lesley Raache, who live near Calstock Road in Gunnislake in Cornwall, said South West Water had investigated in January and said it had found no blockage on the couple's property.
Slegg said since then the water firm had said the blockage had been on the couple's land, meaning they were responsible for it.
A spokesperson for South West Water said the incident had been "caused by a blockage within private pipework" which its staff had cleared at the time.
'It was vile'
The couple said the incident had happened after heavy rainfall in January.
Slegg said: "We saw the sewage pouring out of the access panel in the conservatory."
They had been "unable to use the toilet, the sink, the shower" and Raache said they "were just constantly washing our hands, it was vile".
Slegg said: "The sewage ended up all over the patio. You could see excrement and toilet paper spread over the whole area, it really was disgusting."
He said South West Water engineers had used an industrial pump to try to fix the problem at the time.
Slegg said: "They put down over a 100ft of line and the camera survey afterwards didn't reveal any blockage."
The water regulator Ofwat said drains and pipes which carry household waste were normally the responsibility of the homeowner up to the point they connected with the main public sewer.
Slegg said South West Water had subsequently told him the problem had in fact lain within the boundary of his private sewage system.
The water firm said its teams had visited the area several times to investigate and survey pipework and had "found no evidence of any major defects" in its network.
The couple have disagreed with South West Water.
Slegg said: "Really what they [the engineers] said it was water back up and that we should put a claim in against South West Water.
"It's sickening because it shouldn't be happening.
"The infrastructure of this antiquated sewerage system, it's obvious it needs a major investment and a major upgrade to larger pipes beneath the road, a high capacity down at the pumping station to process the sewerage."
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