Camberley Sewage Treatment Works is a wastewater treatment plant located operated by Thames Water. For a number of years, residents in the surrounding area have been periodically impacted by odours emanating from the site, an issue that our local councillors and MP have been actively campaigning for Thames Water to resolve.
In the summer of 2023, the odour emanating from the site has reached its worse due to Thames Water importing excessive sewage sludge from other sites to the works in Camberley. Michael Gove MP and Surrey Heath Conservatives have been strongly campaigning for Thames Water to resolve this issue.
LATEST UPDATE: 11th April 2024 – Michael Gove MP wrote to the Defra Secretary regarding the poor progress of negotiations with Thames Water, and will report back any news as soon as possible.
22nd March 2024 – Michael Gove MP had a catch up with the Leader of Surrey Heath Borough Council, and relayed the disappointing call with Mr Cochran.
15th March 2024 – Michael Gove MP had a telephone call with Alastair Cochran, Chief Financial Officer at Thames Water to once again press the need for Thames Water to make a meaningful contribution to the communities affected by the foul odour incident last summer.
29th February 2024 – Michael Gove MP was disappointed to receive a letter from the Leader of Surrey Heath Borough Council informing him that the Council’s negotiations with Thames Water to secure meaningful compensation had not progressed well.
30th January 2024 - Thames Water issues public apology to Camberley residents
Following Ofwat and the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), report into how residents felt about Thames Water's handling of the incident, Thames Water has issued a public apology.
The research in the report outlines how customers were let down by Thames Water, who failed to provide adequate explanations on the issues at Camberley Sewage Works, and were not forthcoming with any apologies, with the report stating the local community was left in a "communication black hole" during the problems.
Ofwat and CCW have told Thames Water they need to put this right, and that the actions of Thames Water in the handling of this incident were not acceptable.
Ofwat also stated that Thames Water’s management of the sewage treatment process in this incident was poor and the communications that were issued to residents did not meet a basic level of service customers would expect.
Ofwat has written to Thames Water requesting that they put in place a remediation plan which includes:
- An apology to affected residents for the fact that the incident occurred and for Thames Water's poor handling of it.
- Communication to affected residents explaining the safeguards that are now in place to prevent a similar incident from happening again in the future.
- A financial community contribution.
A Thames Water spokesperson has said that the emergency sludge storage tanks on site will not be used to store sewage sludge again.
18th January 2024 - Michael Gove MP wrote to David Black, Chief Executive of Ofwat, to provide an update on the meeting with Thames Water on 15th January, to request further information on Ofwat’s findings from the research commissioned into how local residents felt about Thames Water’s handling of the odour incident in Camberley.
15th January 2024 - Following his virtual meeting with the then Interim Co-Chief Executive of Thames Water, Alastair Cochran, on 30th November, Michael Gove convened a meeting regarding a financial gesture from Thames Water with: Alastair Cochran, now Chief Financial Officer of Thames Water; Danny Leamon, Director of Waste of Thames Water; Leader of Surrey Heath Borough Council, Shaun Macdonald; Borough Cllr for Watchetts Ward, Lisa Finan-Cooke; Borough Cllrs for St Michael's Ward, Jonathan Quin and Murray Rowlands; and County Councillor for Camberley West, Cllr David Lewis.
They discussed the impact of the odour incident on residents, and it was agreed that Surrey Heath Borough Council would undertake work to find suitable projects to propose to Thames Water for funding. Michael hopes a resolution is now one step closer.
14th December 2023 - Michael Gove writes to David Black, Chief Executive of Ofwat, to follow-up on their virtual meeting of 7th December, so as to provide further information concerning the odour incident during last summer in Camberley.
7th December 2023 - Michael held a virtual meeting with David Black, Chief Executive of Ofwat, to discuss the odour incident. Michael gave his feedback on his experience of dealing with Thames Water, and expressed his wishes for Thames Water to make a financial contribution to the community to adequately compensate local residents for the problems they have suffered from as a direct result of Thames Water's failings.
30th November 2023 - Michael had a virtual meeting with Interim Co-Chief Executive of Thames Water, Alastair Cochran, and explained his view that a financial gesture from Thames Water was required. Michael also proposed a joint meeting with the council leadership and several councillors, and will provide a further update on this in due course.
9th November 2023 - Michael is continuing to press Thames Water on the issue of compensating the community, and he has written to the Interim Co-Chief Executives of Thames Water, Alastair Cochran and Cathryn Ross, to request a meeting.
7th November 2023 – Michael received another disappointing response regarding compensation from James Bentley, Thames Water’s Operations Director of Thames Valley and the Home Counties, which is copied below:
“Please accept my apology for not replying to you sooner regarding your request that we reconsider funding for a community project in acknowledgement of the impact our management of the sludge event had on members of the community. I was out of the country on leave, hence the delay in response.
As you requested I have consulted colleagues again about whether funding should be provided. After consideration and while acknowledging the impact we had on residents, I’m afraid the decision remains that all available funding should be targeted at improving the water and waste water service for customers and the environment and therefore we are not at this time able to make a funding contribution.”
1st November 2023 – Michael chased Thames Water for a response to his further request for compensation for residents to make amends for the foul odours the community endured during the summer.
26th October 2023 - Following the news that Ofwat (the Water Services Regulation Authority), together with the Consumer Council for Water, has decided to commission research into how people feel about Thames Water's handling of the foul odour incident this summer in Camberley, Michael wrote to the Chief Executive of Ofwat to provide further information.
Michael also stressed his disappointment in Thames Water’s failure so far to make a serious effort to make amends with the community for the misery caused to his constituents during the summer months. Michael will be meeting Chief Executive of Ofwat in the coming weeks to discuss this further.
12th October 2023 - Thames Water's offer to compensate local community is just not good enough
Following Michael Gove's meeting with Thames Water on Wednesday 27th September, assurances were made by the company that appropriate compensation would be given to local community for the foul odours that residents had to endure throughout the summer.
However, the response provided by Thames Water is just not good enough.
Michael responded to the Thames Water leadership team to ask they think again on a more appropriate offer, and wrote to DEFRA Secretary to further highlight Thames Water’s failure.
3rd October 2023 - Michael Gove MP presses Thames Water for compensation for Camberley residents impacted by foul odour
Thames Water outlined how potential options for giving back to the local community adversely affected as a result of their failings are being considered. Commenting, Michael said:
"I know from discussions with the people of Camberley just how significantly the stench has blighted their summer, and it is only right that Thames Water gives back to those whose last few months have been so adversely affected."
27th September 2023 - Thames Water commits that the odour problems from Camberley Sewage Treatment Works will never happen again
Following discussions between Thames Water, the Environment Agency and Surrey Heath's MP Michael Gove, unambiguous commitments have been to ensure that the recent odour problems from Camberley Sewage Treatment Works will never happen again.
Following a meeting between Michael and Thames Water, an acknowledgement for local people affected by this issue in St. Michael's and Watchetts is to be created.
18th September 2023 - Thames Water in the final stages of the cleaning process at Camberley Sewage Treatment Works
Thames Water provided Michael Gove MP with an update on the work being done to eliminate the odour, confirming that the first tank has been emptied and cleaned, and the second tank - where less odorous centrate was stored - is virtually empty too.
Scaffolding will be installed at the site over the next several days, with the final stage of the cleaning process commencing on late Wednesday or Thursday morning.
Odour control equipment will remain installed at the site until the entire cleaning job has been completed, which is expected to be by the end of this month.
8th September 2023 - Thames Water making headway in the clean-up operation at Camberley Sewage Treatment Works
Following the processing of imported sludge at the site, the clean-up operation is in the final stages of removing the remaing centrate having fully cleaned the tank.
For local residents that have been impacted by the dreadful odour in recent months, Michael Gove MP has asked residents to contact him with any suggestions they might have on how Thames Water can compensate the local community for what it has had to endure due to the processing of the imported sludge.
1st September 2023 - Michael Gove MP receives confirmation from Thames Water they are in the final stages of processing the imported sludge
Thames Water is now moving onto the clean-up operation - this may take up to a further two to three weeks to complete. Michael has been informed from Thames Water that this will be a much less odorous process than the previous work, they will maintain the 24/7 odour control throughout until completion, as below:
“Following on from my note yesterday I am writing to update you on our progress with removing all the sludge from the tank at Camberley STW.
"I am pleased to say we have now processed all the sludge from the tank through the centrifuge and this stage is now complete. From yesterday, as planned we are now moving into the clean-up stage where we be taking the final silt, rag and debris out of the tank which will be taken away from site.
"To enable this the centrifuge has been taken away and a crane will be brought in on Monday to allow us to install some temporary equipment to allow the cleaning out work to commence. This final cleaning up is likely to take about 2-3 weeks and is a less odorous process than the previous work with the sludge itself. We will maintain full 24/7 odour control while this is carried out."
31st August 2023 - Thames Water provide an update stating the last of the imported sludge is to be removed
Michael continued to chase Thames Water to see if they were on target to complete the processing of the imported sludge on time by the end of August, and received the below response to which he was very relieved to learn the situation and terrible odour is nearing an end.
“Our operations team are still working to have the last of the imported sludge removed from the tank today. The remaining sludge at the bottom of the tank is thicker than the rest and is taking longer to process but I can assure you we are still aiming to complete the operation on time.
"We have continued with the extra tankering to other sites and are employing an extra pump to help with the thicker sludge. This will involve working into the evening but we remain focussed."
25th August 2023 - Thames Water respond to Michael Gove MP
Michael received the following update from Thames Water, and efforts have been stepped up to clear the imported extra sewage sludge:
"At last week’s site meeting at Camberley I promised to follow-up with weekly updates on our progress with processing the raw sludge. Since then, we have continued using the centrifuge and have reduced the volume in the tank from 3,750m³ to 2,000m³.
"We are still aiming to have all the sludge processed by the end of the month and to help achieve this we have now also started tankering raw sludge from the site 6 times per day. Along with extra cake exports which we will now be running through the bank holiday weekend we have stepped up our efforts and will continue to do so until the tank is emptied. This comes with increased operational costs but we are happy to bear these to show our commitment to the community and get the job finished as soon as we can".
24th August 2023 - Following additional complaints from residents in St. Michael's and Watchetts, Camberley, Michael Gove MP wrote again to Thames Water
During the meeting on 17 August, it was mentioned that Thames Water is around 45% of the way through the imported sewage sludge, and that it will be completely gone by the end of August. Michael explained that he is most anxious to ensure this happens, and requested an update on the progress being made.
17th August 2023 - Michael Gove MP visits the Camberley Sewage Treatment Works
Michael visited the site with Surrey Heath Borough Council Environmental Health Officers and the Councillors for St. Michael's and Watchetts. Thames Water outlined that they are currently in the process of removing the excess sludge at the site that has been the source of the foul odour, with the depth of sludge having fallen to below 3.5 metres. The work is expected to be completed by the end of this month.
Thames Water's permit for the site from the Environment Agency will be changed in September, meaning that sludge imports will be no longer permitted as part of the site operation. This will prevent any similar incidents in future.
11th August 2023 - Michael Gove MP meets with representatives from Thames Water
Michael met with Thames Water to discuss the ongoing problems that are emanating from the sewage works in Camberley, to push for a speedy resolution to resolve the issue, to ensure the right measures are in place to mitigate against it ever happening again, and to raise the prospect of compensation for the community in light of the terrible situation they have had to endure.
8th August 2023 - Surrey County Council responds to Michael Gove MP
Surrey County Council officers write back to Michael with the below response following their inspection of the site:
"Further to my email I have the following update for you. One of our monitoring officers visited Camberley STW last week and had a tour of the site with the Site Manager and Regional Manager. They were shown the waste which is the subject of the complaint and the temporary odour management which was operating.
"The import of additional sludge is permitted under planning permission SU92/0728 however, the temporary odour suppression units were only operating for 12 hours a day which was a breach of the approved Odour Management Plan.
"Having insisted that Thames Water increased the odour management to 24/7, we have received an assurance that this is now in place.
"The EA and district council will now work together to address the odour issues under their powers. If we receive anything further which falls within our remit of the site we will of course revisit. I hope this is reflected on the ground."
3rd August 2023 - Michael Gove MP writes again to Thames Water, expressing his dissatisfaction and concerns over their response and lack of action
Michael wrote again to Thames Water expressing his concerns that this issue has been going on for far too long, and also his disappointment that Thames Water could not provide a date of completion. Additionally, Michael raised the issue of compensation and requested a meeting to discuss this situation further and how Thames Water can make amends with the local community. Furthermore, Michael sent a follow-up email to the Environment Agency requesting an update following its inspection of Camberley STW.
2nd August 2023 - Thames Water responds to Michael Gove MP with an update on the extra sewage sludge at Camberley Sewage Treatment Works
Michael Gove MP received the below response from Thames Water outlining the source of the problem and what action is being taken to resolve the issue:
"As outlined in Nikki’s previous note, we are dealing with the extra sewage sludge at Camberley by using a special centrifuge unit which spins the material at high speed allowing the liquid to be separated from the solid matter. The solid waste is then sent on to one of our other sites for processing. The extracted liquid is then put through the sewage treatments process but because it is much more concentrated than the normal flow we get into the works it has to be put through gradually and not all in one go.
"This means the whole process takes time and won’t be completed until later in the month. I can’t give an exact date but please accept my assurance that the team are working as hard as they can to get this done as soon as possible. In the meantime, we have odour control measure up and running 24 hours a day which will help neutralise the smell.
"To keep our customers updated with our actions we have put a statement on our website and have posted on both Twitter and Facebook. We will also be writing update letters to the residents, copies of which I will send you.
"I will keep you updated with our progress but in the meantime please accept my apology for the inconvenience to your constituents."
2nd August 2023 - Michael Gove MP replies to Surrey Heath Labour addressing their concerns raised
Following receipt of Cllr Jonathan Quin and Cllr Murray Rowlands letter, Michael wrote back to them outlining what action he has taken so far to resolve the issue caused by Thames Water, and to arrange a date for a meeting with the councillors.
1st August 2023 - Michael Gove MP writes to Thames Water requesting an update on the work to resolve the problem
Michael wrote again to Thames Water to ask for an update on the work Thames Water is doing to eliminate the odour as quickly as possible. Michael also wrote again to Surrey County Council to share the response he received from the Environment Agency.
1st August 2023 - Surrey Heath Labour write an open letter to Surrey Heath's MP on the sewage odour in Camberley
Cllr Jonathan Quin and Cllr Murray Rowlands wrote an open letter to Michael Gove MP, which was co-signed by the councillors for Watchetts ward, outlining their concerns over the sewage odour issue that is impacting many residents in Camberley West.
31st July 2023 - the Environment Agency respond to Michael Gove MP to confirm that they will be inspecting the site to investigate the problem
The response from the Environment Agency is below:
"Thank you for your email of 26 July 2023 to our Chief Executive, Philip Duffy regarding the odour issues your constituents have been experiencing at Thames Water’s Camberley sewage treatment works (STW). Philip has read your email and asked me to respond on his behalf. He will also receive a copy of this response.
"I can confirm our regulatory responsibilities relating to this site.
"Permitted water discharges from the Camberley STW are regulated by ourselves. These permits do not include conditions or objectives relating to the control of substances or emissions (odour). Therefore, odours arising from the STW are addressed under statutory nuisance and regulated by the Local Authority.
"Sludge recovery on the site takes place under an Exemption, which allows the Operator to recover waste such as Sludge, at a wastewater treatment works. Although registered with us, exemptions are not routinely inspected as this work stream is considered an unfunded activity.
"We have received five odour reports relating to Camberley STW since 21 June 2023. Our initial assessment was of these being attributed to odour from the STW, therefore regulated by the Local Authority. As per our protocol, the reports were forwarded to Surrey Heath Borough Council.
"In light of the information you have shared with us from Thames Water, regarding the importing of additional Sludge giving rise to subsequent odours, my officers will inspect Camberley STW as soon as possible to investigate the situation further, assess compliance with permits and exemptions on site and address any next steps. We are liaising with Thames Water on their management of the odour and have informed them of our investigations.
"Thames Water has applied for a new permit for the regulation of sewage treatment (anaerobic digestion) at the site. Once issued, we will have increased regulatory control with necessary permit conditions to effectively manage odour."
27th July 2023 - Thames Water reply to Michael Gove MP
Following Michael's email, Thames Water responded with the following email:
"Thank you for your e-mail below. I do understand yours and your constituents’ frustration and appreciate that the odour must be unpleasant, particularly during the warmer weather. I have asked our Operational team for an explanation as to why we had excess sludge and why it was imported to Camberley which I hope you will find helpful.
"We took the decision to import sewage sludge very reluctantly and only did so to avoid serious impact on the environment at other sites if the sludge had not been moved to Camberley for processing. Operational issues, at the sites we would normally use for the processing of this sewage sludge, meant that we had to find another location and Camberley Sewage Treatment Works (STW) was the only site with suitable storage capacity. Unfortunately we couldn’t remove the liquid sludge back out of Camberley to pass forward through the normal processing routes as quickly as we intended, leading us to instigate the recovery process we now have in place. This involves a temporary manned centrifuge which simply separates the ‘Cake’ from the liquid. We then transport the cake offsite and recirculate the non-odorous liquid through the works.
"Prior to your constituents’ complaint earlier this summer, we were not aware that residents were being impacted by pre-existing odour issues at Camberley STW. We commissioned an independent odour investigation in 2019 (which we have shared with Surrey Heath BC and are happy to share with you), following a major upgrade to the works. The report states that prior to the upgrade, we only received odour complaints from 5 properties. The report also shows that the upgrade reduced the odour emissions by 25%.
"The site has an odour management plan for its normal operations and has odour control equipment installed on the most odorous parts of the process. Before the current event, we have only received a small number of sporadic complaints – which is to be expected from a process which is inherently odorous and despite us applying best practicable means of control, will emit odours from time to time. However, during a recent meeting with Surrey Heath BC, one of the councillors told us d that residents have reported odours to them on an annual basis. We are working with officers at Surrey Heath to understand the number and frequency of these reports and will take whatever subsequent action is required.
"I hope this helps to explain the situation and I apologise for the inconvenience this has caused the community. If you have any further questions, please let me know."
26th July 2023 - Michael Gove MP writes to Thames Water to highlight that the situation is unacceptable and expressed particular disappointment that Thames Water took the decision to import extra sewage sludge, despite knowing residents were already impacted by the pre-existing odour issues
Michael asked Thames Water to explain to him why the extra sewage sludge was not sent to a different treatment works, in light of the situation in Camberley, and pressed for more to be done to eliminate the odour as quickly as possible.
On the same day, Michael also wrote to the Environment Agency and to Surrey County Council to ask for their assistance, and Michael is pleased that Surrey Heath Borough Council’s Environmental Health officers have been working on this issue too and have also been urging Thames Water to take more action.
25th July 2023 - Thames Water update Michael Gove on the situation at Camberley Sewage Treatment Works
Thames Water provided an update to Michael on the evening of 25th July on the sewage works and the problem
"Due to a recent unplanned situation, we have had to import extra sewage sludge from other Thames Water sites and process it at Camberley. Due to the unplanned nature of the operation, we have not been able to fully control the odour from it. This is why the odour may have been more noticeable recently. We did not take the decision lightly to import the extra sludge and we will be ensuring that we do not have to do this again in the future.
"We have an odour suppression system in place and are quickly identifying means of running this 24/7 and are also processing the extra sludge as quickly as we can, so that it can be removed from the site. This will enable us to clean the sewage storage tanks over the coming weeks and will ensure odour levels return to normal.
"We are carrying out a letter drop to residents to keep them updated on the situation."
10th July 2023 - Thames Water write back to Michael Gove MP's email about the issues raised by residents with Camberley Sewage Treatment Works
Following Michael writing to Thames Water about the odour emanating from the Camberley Sewage Works and the impact this is having on local residents, he receives the below response:
"I am writing to you in response to your email addressed to Nikki Hines, about the odour your constituents are experiencing from our sewage treatment works (STW). I fully understand how unpleasant this must be, especially in the warmer weather. I have investigated this matter on Nikki’s behalf. I trust you find the below information helpful.
"An odour control system (OCS) was set up and commissioned on 12 July and is now being used. In addition, the tank which contributes to odour emanating, will begin a deep clean from 12 July and will take approximately three weeks to empty.
"Our Bio Recycling Lead Planning Manager, is confident the level of odour will now decrease considerably, and your constituents should notice this by today onwards."
June 2023 - Local residents in Camberley West write to Michael Gove MP about the problems with a foul odour emanating from the Camberley Sewage Treatment Works
Michael writes directly to Thames Water about the concerns residents have raised, and requests an update on the current situation at the site and the action being taken to resolve the problem.
