'Our road was a lake of raw sewage' - family home ruined in St Ives' flood
Rebecca Austin, from Elsworth Close, was flooded out of her home by raw sewage on Christmas Eve. - Credit: Family
A family are set to move back into their home in St Ives after a ‘catastrophic’ flood of raw sewage wrecked their property over six months ago.
Rebecca Austin, from Elsworth Close, was flooded out of her home on Christmas Eve along with six neighbours.
The foul smell of raw waste gushed from the sewage system like a “fountain” as their road turned into a “lake”.
MORE: Elderly couple living on 'bombsite' due to sewage floods six months on
“In our house we had a foot of raw sewage right through the ground floor,” Rebecca explained.
“It was catastrophic. Then there is the stress of finding you and your family homeless at Christmas.
“We are now weeks away from moving back home and we will be one of the first back as some neighbours have not even got to the re-plastering stage yet.”
Rebecca says that Anglian Water had been “difficult” following the incident and were yet to follow up any investigations.
“It took three months to ‘clean up’.
“They also refuse to provide information concerning the pumping station that flooded and we believe caused the flooding.
“There are other contributory factors such as the Marley Gap Brook and Parsons Drove Drain being blocked/in poor condition.”
Rebecca’s story comes as we launch our ‘Fight the Floods’ campaign at the Hunts Post, to highlight the devastating impact the floods have had on people across the district.
The Hunts Post 'Fight the Floods' campaign. - Credit: Archant
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In an earlier statement relating to sewage problems in St Ives, an Anglian Water spokesperson said that their investigations would help find the “most suitable long-term fix”.
“Following exceptional rainfall during the Christmas period, our teams are to begin extensive investigations into our sewer network next month,” a statement read.
“These investigations will include CCTV work to ensure our assets are working as efficiently as they should, and will enable us to find any remove any blockages to increase the capacity of the sewer.
“Once this work has been completed we will be able to consider whether any additional work is necessary to help protect homes from flooding.
“We will shortly be in touch with local residents to outline the work and notify them of our progress to date.”
