Hello

Thank you very much for your Environmental Information Regulation (EIR)
request. As per the regulations, we endeavour to provide a response no
later than 20 working days after the date of receipt of the request for
the information. It may take us longer to respond to your request if we
believe the request to be complex, or the volume of information requested
means that we may not be able to comply with the request within the
timeframe. We will however inform you of this prior to the 20-working day
deadline.

Kind regards, Severn Trent, EIR team. Severn Trent Plc (registered number
2366619) and Severn Trent Water Limited (registered number 2366686)
(together the "Companies") are both limited companies registered in
England & Wales with their registered office at Severn Trent Centre, 2 St
John's Street, Coventry, CV1 2LZ This email (which includes any files
attached to it) is not contractually binding on its own, is intended
solely for the named recipient and may contain CONFIDENTIAL, legally
privileged or trade secret information protected by law. If you have
received this message in error please delete it and notify us immediately
by telephoning +44 2477715000. If you are not the intended recipient you
must not use, disclose, distribute, reproduce, retransmit, retain or rely
on any information contained in this email. Please note the Companies
reserve the right to monitor email communicationsin accordance with
applicable law and regulations. To the extent permitted by law, neither
the Companies or any of their subsidiaries, nor any employee, director or
officer thereof, accepts any liability whatsoever in relation to this
email including liability arising from any external breach of security or
confidentiality or for virus infection or for statements made by the
sender as these are not necessarily made on behalf of the Companies.
Reduce waste! Please consider the environment before printing this email

ST Classification: UNMARKED

Dear Barbara,

Thank for your further request, we have provided answers in response to
your questions below.

What is the time scale on the proposed review/survey mentioned?

We have undertaken a CCTV of the sewerage system and are in the process of
analysing the results, to identify areas where remedial works are
required. There is still some further asset survey work, over the summer
to complete to understand the options for suitable solutions. 

It stated you are working with LLFA but they advised me it is EA/STW who
deals with sewage flooding in my area.

The Flood and Water Management Act 2010 established Lead Local Flood
Authorities (LLFA), these are generally the functions of the local
authority, in this case Warwickshire County Council. The LLFA is
responsible for managing local flood risk and coordinating involvement
where necessary. There are a number of factors that influence the flooding
in Cherington, including surface water run-off and local watercourses
which requires multi-agency collaborative approach. They are aware of the
work we are undertaking in this area and we are keeping them informed of
progress.

Please advice number of households connected to Cherington sewerage plant
as it is not included in your last FOI reply.

There are approximately 750 properties connected to the Cherington
Wastewater Treatment Works.

We hope the above information is helpful.

Best wishes,

Severn Trent EIR Team

Severn Trent Plc (registered number 2366619) and Severn Trent Water
Limited (registered number 2366686) (together the "Companies") are both
limited companies registered in England & Wales with their registered
office at Severn Trent Centre, 2 St John's Street, Coventry, CV1 2LZ This
email (which includes any files attached to it) is not contractually
binding on its own, is intended solely for the named recipient and may
contain CONFIDENTIAL, legally privileged or trade secret information
protected by law. If you have received this message in error please delete
it and notify us immediately by telephoning +44 2477715000. If you are not
the intended recipient you must not use, disclose, distribute, reproduce,
retransmit, retain or rely on any information contained in this email.
Please note the Companies reserve the right to monitor email
communicationsin accordance with applicable law and regulations. To the
extent permitted by law, neither the Companies or any of their
subsidiaries, nor any employee, director or officer thereof, accepts any
liability whatsoever in relation to this email including liability arising
from any external breach of security or confidentiality or for virus
infection or for statements made by the sender as these are not
necessarily made on behalf of the Companies. Reduce waste! Please consider
the environment before printing this email

ST Classification: UNMARKED

Dear Barbara Babbage, 

Thank you for your environmental information request. Please see our
response below, we have included your original questions for ease of
reference.   

a.       When the works were built what was the maximum number of houses
the water works could cope with. 

The works typically has capacity to treat flows from a population
equivalent of approximately 1,100. Please note that ‘population
equivalent’ differs from ‘number of properties’. Population equivalent is
the typical term referenced when referring to wastewater treatment
capacities.  

b.       Any improvements and dates made to the Water works since being
built. 

c.       Up-to-date figure of number of houses the water works can cope
with in 2023. 

The works was upgraded in 2015, when a new percolating filter was
constructed to increase the treatment capacity. The new percolating filter
was designed to treat sewage from a population equivalent of approximately
1,788. 

It is worth noting that treatment capacity is limited and will vary based
on the hydraulic retention of the process units, which considers the need
to settle solids and allow for natural microbial activity. Additionally, a
number of external environmental factors, such as temperature or the
strength of the incoming sewage, will also affect the treatment
capacity.  

Based on the current performance of the site, we envisage Cherington STW
has potential to accommodate up to 200 additional properties, depending
upon occupancy, flow per person and future weather patterns and assuming
no significant changes to permitting requirements introduced through
future environmental legislation. 

We hope you find the above helpful.  

We would also like to offer you the opportunity to discuss any other
related questions with one of our Operational specialists. Please let us
know if you wish to take us up on this offer and the best times to contact
you. 

Best wishes, 

Severn Trent EIR team 

Severn Trent Plc (registered number 2366619) and Severn Trent Water
Limited (registered number 2366686) (together the "Companies") are both
limited companies registered in England & Wales with their registered
office at Severn Trent Centre, 2 St John's Street, Coventry, CV1 2LZ This
email (which includes any files attached to it) is not contractually
binding on its own, is intended solely for the named recipient and may
contain CONFIDENTIAL, legally privileged or trade secret information
protected by law. If you have received this message in error please delete
it and notify us immediately by telephoning +44 2477715000. If you are not
the intended recipient you must not use, disclose, distribute, reproduce,
retransmit, retain or rely on any information contained in this email.
Please note the Companies reserve the right to monitor email
communicationsin accordance with applicable law and regulations. To the
extent permitted by law, neither the Companies or any of their
subsidiaries, nor any employee, director or officer thereof, accepts any
liability whatsoever in relation to this email including liability arising
from any external breach of security or confidentiality or for virus
infection or for statements made by the sender as these are not
necessarily made on behalf of the Companies. Reduce waste! Please consider
the environment before printing this email

ST Classification: UNMARKED

Dear Barbara,

Thank you for your recent email requesting further information, we have
provided our response below, including your original question for context.

We would also like to repeat our offer for you to discuss your questions
in more detail in a meeting with some of our wastewater network and
treatment specialists, as we believe this would provide a beneficial forum
for some detailed discussion around the topics raised.

The figures do not add up and the works are nearly at its limit now, and
as soon as it rains raw sewage is coming up through the drains and
flooding the road on a regular basis. There are STW vans outside at the
tank in the ground and pumps in Main Street, checking regularly levels and
it is summer how will it cope through the winter?

We expect that population numbers will not exactly align as not all
population identified through census numbers, or properties identified
through council records, are connected to the sewerage system. It is
important to note that population or property numbers are not an exact
indicator for treatment process capacity. As outlined in previous
responses, determining the treatment process capacity of a works will be
determined by a number of factors.

It is also important to make the distinction between the treatment process
and hydraulic capacity at the receiving Sewage Treatment Works (STW), and
the hydraulic capacity of the upstream wastewater network. Performance
data for Cherrington STW shows that it treats to the requirements of the
permit and, therefore, the connected population is not exceeding the
capacity of the works. This data provides us with confidence that the
works can accommodate the flow from likely population growth expected over
the next 10 years.

Notwithstanding the above, we recognise that there has been historic
issues with hydraulic capacity within the catchment. Again, it is
important to make the distinction between the treatment process capacity
at the works (the ability to adequately treat the incoming wastewater) and
the hydraulic capacity in the upstream network in Cherrington (the
physical capacity of the network to collect and transfer wastewater to the
sewage treatment works, which can be overwhelmed with storm water during
periods of prolonged rainfall). As part of a capital scheme to improve the
wastewater infrastructure in the area in 2021, we undertook lining and
repairs across 3km of sewers, which should help provide relief from
infiltration, which should preserve the existing capacity for wastewater
that is intended to be present in the network.

We acknowledge, however, that there have also been reports of flooding
earlier in the year. In response to these reports, and the concerns you
have highlighted, our Asset Planning team are undertaking a technical
review of the associated network. Our Wastewater Network Catchment Lead,
James Webb, would like to reach out to you directly to provide you with
updates regarding this matter is happy to be your contact moving forward,
we expect this review to be concluded week commencing 09 October 2023. To
arrange this, please reply to this email with your contact details so that
James can reach out to you in the coming weeks.

With regards to the storm overflow discharge data for Cherrington STW, we
recognise that reducing the number and duration of discharges is important
to our customers, which is why we are spending, and will continue to
spend, £100million a year improving the rivers in our region. Storm
overflows provide a vital service in ensuring sewers do not back up and
flood people’s homes. By the end of last year, we had already completed
work to ensure 100% of our overflows were monitored. As part of our Get
River Positive plan, we have committed to reduce this to 20 by 2025, in
line with what environmental bodies expect. Our performance has improved
year on year and is ahead of the industry average. Last year we had
reduced this number to 18 activations, which means we are ahead of our
plan to reach the regulatory target of 20 activations by 2025 and 10
activations by 2050.

Central to our Get River Positive pledges is the commitment that our
operations will not be the reason for any stretch of river in the whole
Severn Trent region to be classified as unhealthy by 2030.  This is 20
years ahead of Defra’s Storm Overflows Reduction Plan. Severn Trent
operations currently account for less than 16% of the reasons why rivers
across the Midlands aren’t reaching a good ecological status; with the
remaining attributed to agriculture, industry, house building, local
councils, highways and other factors.

Best Wishes,

Severn Trent EIR Team

Severn Trent Plc (registered number 2366619) and Severn Trent Water
Limited (registered number 2366686) (together the "Companies") are both
limited companies registered in England & Wales with their registered
office at Severn Trent Centre, 2 St John's Street, Coventry, CV1 2LZ This
email (which includes any files attached to it) is not contractually
binding on its own, is intended solely for the named recipient and may
contain CONFIDENTIAL, legally privileged or trade secret information
protected by law. If you have received this message in error please delete
it and notify us immediately by telephoning +44 2477715000. If you are not
the intended recipient you must not use, disclose, distribute, reproduce,
retransmit, retain or rely on any information contained in this email.
Please note the Companies reserve the right to monitor email
communicationsin accordance with applicable law and regulations. To the
extent permitted by law, neither the Companies or any of their
subsidiaries, nor any employee, director or officer thereof, accepts any
liability whatsoever in relation to this email including liability arising
from any external breach of security or confidentiality or for virus
infection or for statements made by the sender as these are not
necessarily made on behalf of the Companies. Reduce waste! Please consider
the environment before printing this email