Caister sewage plant odour prompts complaints to council

For years, the unpleasant odour emanating from the sewage treatment works in Caister has forced villagers to shut their windows in the summer, while some have even kept so-called ‘stink diaries’ documenting every incident. 

Anglian Water, the company which runs the facility, has taken various measures to combat the problem. 

But the pong, wafting on the southern wind, has not gone away.  

The water treatment works at Caister. (Image: Archant) Parish council chairman Kevin Wood said: “In August people couldn’t sit in their gardens in the south of the village because of the smell. 

“People had to close their windows.

“The smells were worse during the summer, but we are still getting them."

The council has reported the issue to Anglian Water and Great Yarmouth Borough Council. 

A representative for Anglian Water attended a meeting of Caister Parish Council on Monday, November 4, to address the problem.

In the wake of the meeting, a spokesperson for the company said: "To complete essential maintenance at a nearby pumping station, we needed to temporarily turn the odour dosing system off while our technicians worked.

"We apologised to the parish council and residents for the inconvenience caused."

The spokesperson said the company increased the levels of odour treatment at their facility, changed their process of managing the biosolids and upgraded the odour control on-site.

"If approved by Ofwat, our next business plan will enable us to make even further investment into the works, potentially including replacing the headworks odour control process entirely.

"Our teams are also investigating other potential sources of odour in the area," the spokesperson added. 

Kevin Wood, chairman of Caister Parish Council. (Image: Archant) According to Mr Wood, the village was subjected to the same rich aroma last year and Anglian Water said they would put in measures to alleviate the problem - but that “obviously hasn’t worked”. 

“It’s the southern part of the village that is most affected, around Yarmouth Road and West Road.

"It doesn’t happen all the time. But it’s a little frustrating that we still haven’t got to the bottom of it.” 

In 2019, the parish council had meetings with representatives of Anglian Water to discuss actions for suppressing the stench. 

In May of that year, the company fitted a new filter in the sewage treatment plant and residents said the smell died down - but over that summer it worsened again amid fears that tourists were being put off their holidays.

One year later, the borough council served an enforcement notice on Anglian Water after environment officers had monitored people’s back gardens and found the treatment works were “causing a statutory nuisance to the community”. 

The notice required the company to put a stop to the issue by April 1, 2020. 

The water treatment works in Caister - the source of a foul odour which has been bothering residents for years. (Image: Archant) READ MORE: Locals demand action over sewage discharges at Norfolk beach

More than four years later, however, the council is still receiving complaints. 

A spokesperson for Town Hall said: “Two complainants have raised concerns about smells emanating from the Caister sewage treatment works.  

“An officer is investigating the issue and a site visit has been carried out, in addition to regular monitoring activity.  

“The council is now working with Anglian Water to see what remedial works might be possible to reduce any issues," the spokesperson added.

In related news, last month Anglian Water announced they are planning to invest £26m into reducing the volume of sewage released into the North Sea at Caister. 

This followed data which revealed that the village had the highest number of sewage discharges out of the county's beaches last year, with wastewater released for more than 560 hours during 106 spills.