It's hard to miss the issues with the Plympton Pong! I have met with South West Water at Marsh Mills Wastewater Treatment Works to gain a full understanding of the root causes. Especially the increased occurrence of smells since building commenced at Sherford.
Smells from Marsh Mills are regularly monitored and efforts are constantly made by the team to contain the smells as much as possible. Several fans have been installed above the machinery to stop the smells from rising and blowing over Plympton.
In 2016/17, South West Water pumped significant investment into Marsh Mills to prepare it for the Sherford development. The smells actually occur because the site is not yet at capacity, the reverse of what you'd think, meaning that sewage flows through the system less quickly. This partial flow increases septicity (when wastewater sits stagnant without oxygen it starts smelling like rotten eggs!) As more residents get their keys, move into Sherford, and flush their loos the smell should go!
Public awareness of sewage discharges has grown since the last Conservative Government increased monitoring from 7% in 2010 to 100% in 2023. We are immensely proud of our coastline in Devon and any instances of sewage discharge should be a cause for concern. It is also worth noting that raw sewage is never discharged from the Marsh Mills site. Storm overflow is permitted to prevent flooding in our homes and 99% is treated and clean. South West Water have committed to almost double its investment in the environment to £2.5bn until 2030 - I will monitor progress closely.
Thank to Helen, Dave, Jess, and Fernley for taking time out of their busy day to give me a really informative tour of the site. It was great to learn about the wastewater process - I was also made aware that South West Water offer school visits which you can sign up to here: https://www.southwestwater.co.uk/.../education/school-visits
If you have any personal issues with wastewater that I can help with please do get in touch - rebecca.smith.mp@parliament.uk
