Category Archives: Yorkshire Water Smells

Community Fund to compensate for Yorkshire Water smells?

YORKSHIRE WATER has hinted at plans to establish a ‘Community Fund’ as a way of compensating local residents for problems caused by the smells from the Waste Water Treatment Works at Saltend.

In the Hull Daily Mail yesterday Yorkshire Water’s Matt Thompson was quoted as saying:

Matt Thompson - Water in-water out

Matt Thompson

“We are keenly aware that we have had to rely on the patience and understanding of local residents for a number of years on this matter. We have therefore agreed, as a gesture of goodwill to the local community, to create a community fund to help support local projects that benefit the Hedon and Preston neighbourhood. We hope it will be administered by a community liaison panel made up of councillors and local community groups.”

The idea of a ‘Community Chest’ was first mooted by Councillor John Dennis last year. On the 5th August 2011, he and fellow ward Councillor Mike Bryan met with Yorkshire Water about the offensive smells (Councillor Ann Suggit was away at the time). Councillor Dennis commented about the meeting on the Hedon Blog:

“As arranged at that first meeting, I will be holding discussions with YW’s head of communications in the expectation of securing some form of compensation package for the local community. It would surely not be unreasonable for us to expect them to come up with a positive, tangible gesture to show how sorry they really are!”

And yesterday he commented on the latest news: “I had suggested some form of Community Chest into which local communities might be able to dip for valid local projects. Parishes have always got something they would like financial help with – village hall improvements and re-builds etc. Hedon is having lots of problems with the Horsewell Pond which no longer holds water. They are the sort of project I would envisage being able to qualify for consideration, however we’ll have to wait and see what’s on the table. I look forward with great interest to hear how it will work, and how much it will actually contain. I hope there are plenty of noughts in the figure!”

The idea of a Community Fund would seem to be a good idea. Local community and environmental projects could obviously benefit from such a fund. Although some residents would have liked to have seen the compensation represented in the form of lower water bills! However, as Councillor Dennis says, it will be interesting to see how many noughts there are in the figure! Enough noughts, and perhaps the ‘pot’ could be used to attract further funding!

The idea of a Community Liaison Panel to administer the fund with community group representation is also a positive suggestion. In fact something like this might be an opportunity to bring local community groups together to make project suggestions and nominate panel members.

The Yorkshire Water smells brought communities together in anger. Perhaps a Community Fund can bring them together to make things better!?

Odour Control Unit now ‘live’ at Waste Water Treatment Works

wordle on Yorkshire Water and Smells

Perhaps Yorkshire Water's association with Smells is about to end?

YORKSHIRE WATER confirmed today that the new £3.5m odour control unit at their Saltend Treatment Works is now “up and running”.

Richard Sears, community engagement manager at Yorkshire Water,said:

“After months of hard work, we’re pleased to say we’re now in a position where we have this huge state-of-the-art unit up and running, just as we had scheduled.

 ”We know that for some years the local community has put up with intermittent odours from the site and this is clearly unacceptable. And whilst there is always likely to be some odour owing to the operational nature of the site, we’re confident that with this unit, which is the biggest in the region, will help to significantly reduce odours, ensuring they remain within guideline levels.”

 Yorkshire Water is committed to engaging closely with communities in Hedon and Paull to ensure everyone is kept up to speed. For a full copy of the News Release by Yorkshire Water see HU12 Online…

Comment: The Hedon Blog hopes that the current measures are enough to make problem odours a thing of the past and prevent the situation that happened in summer 2011 from ever happening again. The comments made on our Wall of Shame should serve as a reminder to the water company of the anger that would be unleashed if they get this wrong!

New odour control unit being tested

£3.5m Odour Control Unit - construction complete

THE LATEST PHOTO from Yorkshire Water shows the newly constructed £3.5m Odour Control Unit at Saltend. Trials of the new unit are now taking place to ensure that everything is working as expected.

Richard Sears, the Water Company’s community engagement manager, said “We’re delighted to now be in position where we’re testing the new odour control unit at the site ahead of schedule, with a view to having it up and running by the beginning of December. “

The firm installing the unit are engineering specialists Morgan Sindall. It believes that the unit will help to reduce odours from the site and early test results support this belief with no hydrogen sulphide being detected from the chimney. Hydrogen sulphide is the gas that gives off the familiar ‘rotten egg’ smell.

The new unit takes air from the sludge processing part of the site – typically the source of most smells – and treats it using Turkish pumice stone infused with odour-eating bacteria.

In addition to the new unit, Yorkshire Water says that it is closely monitoring daily processes with industry experts and leading scientists.

Pro-active measures to safeguard against offensive odours from Saltend

SALTEND SMELLS - Update from Environment and Regeneration Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Committee held today:

The council have been reacting to complaints – but now we will put measures in place to pro-actively address the issue of odours!” 

This was the pledge made by a council officer at today’s meeting which looked at the East Riding Council’s response to the issue of foul smells from Yorkshire Water’s Waste Water Treatment Works.

Rather than waiting to see if there are any complaints about smells during – for example – the pea-harvest season next summer, the council will be actively monitoring and ‘sniffing’ them out. This may involve having an officer present in Hedon everyday during July 2012 to be a point of contact for residents – and undoubtedly to be the ‘official nose’. And, as Councillor John Dennis has suggested, residents could be sent pre-printed diary forms to record any smelly experiences with comments, dates, times and places.

Yorkshire Water Odour Control Unit -'major change'

Yorkshire Water have also expressed a desire to act in a pro-active way on their odour problems by developing a new ‘odour management plan’. They maintain that the new odour control unit will result in major change, but additionally they are investing in new processes that will see ‘peak loads’ (of sewage) being predicted and treated to avoid odour incidents.

Chairman of the Committee John Wilkinson said that the Report was a “very positive response” to the odour issues – but reiterated that if future evidence of odours was found, or provided by residents, then the council would use all its powers to hold Yorkshire Water to account.

Ann Suggit as Ward Councillor summed up the views of many residents as she spoke directly to Yorkshire Water: “We are holding our breath for improvements. We’ve had a hell of a time with this over the last 11 years. If there are further problems you can guarantee we will be in touch.”

Council to issue strongest ever warning to Yorkshire Water over offensive odours!

“Thanks to all those who signed the petition and campaigned against the smells! Your efforts have now been rewarded” – Hedon Blog

A REPORT will go before East Riding Council’s environment and regeneration overview and scrutiny committee this morning which will express the council’s “lack of confidence” in Yorkshire Water for failing to manage and control the release of offensive odours from the Saltend Waste Water Treatment Works.

The report states that the odours from the Treatment Works have been “unacceptable this year” resulting in the highest level of recorded complaints. And while the odours are expected to be significantly reduced by the completion of the new odour control unit, the council will monitor the situation and, when needed, will respond making full use of the powers it has at its disposal to protect the public.

This is expected to be the strongest ever statement from the council on this matter and a press release is expected to be released later today that will express the council’s tough position on this matter.

The report discussed today has been produced in direct response to the 2,405 strong petition that was presented to the same council committee on 21st September  2011.

The Hedon Blog would like to thank all those residents that signed the petition, whether on paper or online, and to all those who took part in the campaign to rid our communities of these offensive odours! Your efforts have now been rewarded with the strongest possible expression of support from the East Riding of Yorkshire Council – and the strongest ever warning to Yorkshire Water!

You can follow the progress of the campaign against the odours on the Hedon Blog by reading all the articles on this matter, in reverse chronological order, at the Hedon Blog at Yorkshire Water Smells.

Community asked to collect evidence of any future Yorkshire Water odour incidents : Health concerns remain unanswered

EAST RIDING COUNCIL have responded to the petition calling for action on Yorkshire Water’s odour problem from its Waste Water Treatment Works. Because future smells may constitute a ‘statutory nuisance’ problem, then local communities would be asked to collect and give reliable evidence of any problems. The Report also raises some unresolved issues about the health impacts of the odours during summer 2011.
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Yorkshire Water Smells – No complaints recorded

IN THE LATEST update from Yorkshire Water’s Hull and Saltend News webpage then NO COMPLAINTS about odours have been recorded in the week 17th October to 23rd October 2011. This means that for the whole of October only 1 complaint has been reported.

This is similar to the situation in October 2010 with 1 odour complaint, but far better than previous years with 25 complaints in the same month in 2009, and 20 each in October 2008 and October 2007.

The Hedon Blog has reproduced the latest odour report from Yorkshire Water below.

Yorkshire Water Smells – Good news…. but we’ve not forgotten!

REMEMBER THIS from August this year….?

THE GOOD NEWS is that smells from the Yorkshire Water Waste Water Treatment Works do not seem to have caused any major upset in the last few weeks.

In the three weeks from 19th September – 9th October 2011 then there have been only two recorded complaints according to Yorkshire Water’s Hull and Saltend News. Of course this may not reflect reality because people do not always report the smells they suffer.

However, we do not want to forget the 11 years of odour problems from the Saltend site or the ruined summer of 2011. And we want to ensure that Yorkshire Water don’t forget either!

It should be a cause for celebration when the new odour control unit goes online at the Treatment Works in November/December – but it’s also a perfect time to remind Yorkshire Water of their past misdemeanours! So that is when it is proposed to present Yorkshire Water with our Wall of Shame!

The Hedon Blog will ensure that those in authority at Yorkshire Water are sent copies of the comments contained on the Wall of Shame. Copies will be also sent to the media and other bodies such as OFWAT the regulator of the water and sewerage industry in England.

People are still sending us comments to add to the Wall of Shame – but if you have not yet sent us a comment of your experience of the smells in the past, then please do!

Visit: Yorkshire Water Smells – Wall of Shame

Catch up with all the campaign history and news at Yorkshire Water Smells.