Infrastructure.
From time to time all communities may experience disruption brought about by necessary or desired changes to our services and amenities. For instance, In the last few years we have all benefitted from the arrival of new fibreoptic internet connections. Electricity, gas and water supplies are available to most properties in the hamlet and mains sewerage drainage is provided to a few.
This page is devoted to providing information about any future initiatives that may improve services or potentially cause disruption through new construction projects.
T-Pylons
The new "T-pylons" form part of the Hinkley Connection project and are the world's first T-Pylons, running a 57 km route between Bridgwater and Portbury. A section through the Mendip Hills Area of Natural Beauty, in the valley running below Winscombe, has been spared this embellishment, by virtue of underground cablesRead more ….
The following update about the general binding rules for drainage was added in July 2024:
Wessex Water have recently clarified their position regarding the requests in 2021 for an extension of the public sewerage in Lympsham to include Eastertown and North Road areas. We are informed that the authority conducted a “viability study” that year and determined that a scheme for 24 applicants, including a potential further 34 households, and it was found not to be viable at that time.
They considered the construction of different routes and the need for a pumping station and found the costs to be prohibitive. Funding decisions about major projects are taken on a five-year cycle and is due to be reviewed next year. Given the immense amount of work needed to improve sewage treatment across the regions, all water companies are going to be struggling to find resources to rectify many deficiencies. Small local schemes where they have determined that pollution risks are low, will have very little priority.
The costs of a sewer that would need to be taken to several meters depth and across a main arterial road (the A370) and the upgrading or construction of a new pumping station will cost many hundreds of thousands of pounds. (Even a proposed housing development in Lympsham will be a major “headache” for them if it goes ahead.) A future proposal from more than 50 households would probably be needed for the request to be reconsidered seriously. In the meantime, residents who have existing septic tanks and modern digester systems are subject to the General Binding Rules on small sewage discharges. Wessex Water have no record of pollution in this locality.
Construction of a modern digester system with an adequate area of surface drainage would appear to be the best option remaining for residents in this locality. Follow these links for more information about the guidance for sewerage connection from Wessex Water and the Government-issued General Binding Rules:
1. General Binding Rules: Small sewage discharges to the ground
2. Connecting to a public sewer
Who Wants Mains Sewerage?
If your property already has an off mains drainage system such as a septic tank, treatment plant or cesspit, one of the key reasons for this is likely to be lack of proximity to a main sewer. In the case of the residents of Eastertown, that is many of us! The map linked to this article shows the current extent of the mains sewerage provision in this locality.A number of properties that are set well back from the road are using a septic tank or other off-mains drainage systems. For many years they have been the most appropriate but also the only possible drainage solution for a rural property. However, over time the shape of towns and villages can change, and additional property developments can bring utilities such as drainage within reach of more rural properties. Such a development within Eastertown remains unlikely but the high, water table and increasingly wet winters can reduce the efficiency of off-mains systems.
For a locality where a proportion of residents have already taken steps to invest in upgraded, off-mains systems, connection to a mains sewer may not be attractive at the present time. Others may have concerns about their current arrangements for sewage waste and a collective approach to Wessex Water may be a reasonable next step.
This website invites residents who have been considering their options to contact us to discuss the ways in which we may investigate the matter further. Others who have successfully installed efficient off-mains systems may be pleased to illustrate their experience for the benefit of those considering that option for upgrading their existing septic tank systems. We would like to hear from you.
Peter Smith
