Forum Topic

Vanessa Smith on MOGDEN

For some strange reason ousted Cllr Vanessa Smith is trying to convince herself that  odour and mosquito conditions from Mogden have improved vastly due to all her hard work  when she was a councillor many years ago. I  have accused her of achieving nothing during her time in office in improving conditions for residents living within 2 miles of Mogden.  I have accused her of not attending  a single Thames Water Mogden Residents' meeting and I have challenged her to produce evidence of a single letter written to Thames Water, Ofwat, Defra or our  MP complaining about the situation. - She can't,  but she has posted elsewhere on this forum the following:    "I don't really care what you think - because as you say you are a newcomer so therefore cannot possibly know what went on all those years ago""I have lived here now nearly thirty years and whilst not perfect Mogden is not the problem that it was, we used to have a revolting pall of smells hanging around sometimes for days some years ago, that invaded your home. I can certainly vouch for the fact that the mozzies were a hell of a lot worse than they are now.""As I live well within sniffing distance of Mogden I can say that it has improved vastly over what it was when we first started our dialogue with Thames Water, certainly here the mozzie problem is a lot less."As a committee member of MRAG  I am privy to the thousands of complaints which have been received and forwarded to Thames Water and LBH over the years and can categorically state that the problem has escalated.  Many of the complainants have lived in the area for as long if not longer than Ms Smith and they have confirmed that 2006 odour has reached unprecedented levels and the intensity of the odour has never been worse. Mosquitoe complaints seem to have reduced slightly in 2005 after MRAG insisted on Thames Water doubling the summer spraying regime and MRAG insisted on Thames Water contributing financially to the gully cleaning programme but regrettably 2006 has seen the mosquito problem once again out of control.   Hereunder is just one of the hundreds of complaints received over the last 2 months. The complainant has given us his full blessing to post it on this forum."Dear Steve, Please feel free to forward as many of my recent (and regular) reports of anti-social problems associated with the Mogden works as you wish. Ms Smith is also welcome to come and see for herself that my complaints about mosquitoes are not fabricated or exaggerated. You need only look around the street lighting at night to see the extent of their numbers. We have been moved to install a plug-in mosquito killing vaporiser in our bedroom to try and keep on top of the problem (so intended for more tropical climates that it requires an adaptor to fit UK sockets) but on top of that we still remove (swat) at least half a dozen from the house nightly, however, we are still suffering bites during the night. The stench this summer has been hugely and frequently noticeable, on one occasion within the last couple of weeks it actually was so bad during the small hours of the morning that it woke both me and my wife. Closing the windows when it is still well over 20deg outside and even hotter indoors is not the most preferable thing to be forced to do.   You can advise her from a resident living close to Mogden that if she thinks the problem has got better she is grossly mistaken. To suggest we, the local residents to Mogden are 'going off half cocked' frankly verges on insulting and I take exception this view point when I consider the number of miserable days and nights myself and my family have endured in recent months due to Mogden and its continuing problems. I would like to think that I am a normal, level headed  and rational person. I would not spend my time recording my concerns with you unless I felt it absolutely necessary in order to remind Thames water and people like Ms Smith that the problem has not gone away in the slightest and that we still need to get something done about this. Regards, Jonathan Oatway ""Hillary Drive, Isleworth. 27/07/06 9pm. Mogden absolutely reeking again after the rain. It was stomach turning. We had to close all the windows but the smell lingered right throughout the house. I was moved to apologise to a guest we had visiting at the time. All very embarrassing considering the raw sewage nature of the odour. What must he have thought about where we live? It's a joke living here, why should we live in fear of the stench. Our hearts and mood sink every time we have a heavy downpour or rainy day. This summer has definitely seen a marked increase in the strength and frequency of the odour over the same period last year yet Thames water seem to think they are making improvements??!! STILL removing several mosquitoes from our house on a nightly basis. Very depressing. Jonathan Oatway "

Steve Taylor ● 6881d6 Comments

It was noted that no labour activists or councillors turned up to support residents at the Mogden Residents' Liaison Meeting on 20 September.

Steve Taylor ● 6800d

MRAG has asked me to post the following update on this forum.  Dear Residents (copied blind to protect email privacy) Many of you suffered the most horrendous odour from Mogden on Sunday evening.  A couple of you may have received the email as hereunder from Thames Water's communications consultant as an explanation for your suffering.  The information provided by Thames Water is not accurate and not complete.  This is what actually happened At some time between 15:30 and 17:00 hrs on Sunday 6 August there was a sewage overflow at a wash pactor at the east side sewage inlet. Mogden's on-site team  tried to clean it up. (there isn't a qualified manager on site over weekends) The fault was not reported to the duty off-site manager as per procedures. The fault was not reported to the customer services department as per procedures The fault was not reported to residents via email as per procedures. The blockage to a pipe was not rectified because it became dark so work stopped. The team did not attempt to use lighting so that the job could be completed. The on-site team did not contact outside contractors to assist even though they were aware that the problem was causing severe odour and the problem was adjacent to a densely populated residential area. The Customers services dept in Swindon were not aware of the problem by 10 pm 6 Aug. when they were contacted by MRAG The off-site duty manager was not aware of the problem until contacted by MRAG. The off-site duty manager was not aware of the Defra Code of Practice for Sewage Treatment Works. The off-site duty manager was aware that  following the Hounslow court case the judge had ruled that an Odour Management Plan had to be in place but he confirmed that he had never been told to read it or familiarise himself with procedures. The off-site duty manger confirmed that he thought he should have been contacted by the site in such circumstances but he was vague as to at which point he should have been alerted. The off-site duty manager was not aware of the EC and EA trigger levels from the odour monitors which would necessitate that he be alerted to the problem. The off-site duty manager was not aware of where  the sludge spillage raw sewage had been moved. The off-site duty manager  could not confirm if the sewage had been placed in skips, where the skips were located and if the skips were covered. The off-site duty manager could not confirm at what time the clean-up would resume the next day and whether additional labour would be employed to alleviate the problem as quickly as possible. The fault was not reported on the Mogden webpage or by email to residents until Tuesday 8 August at 18:14 hours well after MRAG had alerted LBH to the fact that Thames Water was not following agreed legal procedures These are the reasons residents suffered  and continue to suffer on an almost daily basis. Plainly and simply, Mogden is not managed and we wonder how many other odour events of a serious nature have not been reported or actioned appropriately. In June and July we wrote to Thames Water's CEO, Mr Jeremy Pelczer,  expressing our concern that odour and mosquito complaints had reached unprecedented levels. On 18 July Mr Pelczer replied and,  besides providing unsubstantiated figures on the huge investments on odour at Mogden between 1997 and 2005,  he advised:    "I am confident that the team at Mogden are appropriately qualified to manage the site and oversee the improvement work.  The site is operated and maintained using strict controls and procedures intended to minimise any odour resulting from its operation.  Good housekeeping is a key part of its operation.  I can assure you that I will continue to take an interest in the situation at Mogden."  If events over the last few days are an indication of the best service and interest we can be guaranteed by the top man  at Thames Water there is little hope for the people of  Richmond and Hounslow boroughs. This is the service one can expect from a company that is wanting to solicit support for its expansion of Mogden to comply with the UWWT directive so that it doesn't face huge fines. If Thames Water cannot manage the site as it stands how can it possibly be trusted to manage a site with increased capacity without causing misery to thousands of residents. For more information on RWE Thames see Twickenham OnLine  Letters posting  by one  Sue Russell                                  http://www.say-it-all.co.uk/voxpoprut/index.php?act=thread&forum_id=2&thread_id=5434&message_id RegardsMRAG DETAILS OF COMPLAINTS AND AREAS AFFECTED BY MOGDEN ARE AVAILABLE ON www.mogden.org.ukfor latest information on Mogden Residents Action Group go to OnLine Communities Ltd Website www.mogden.org.uk For News and Views on local community issues visit http://www.twickenham-online.co.uk/ -----------------Forwarded Message: Subj: Odour from Mogden on Sunday evening  Date: 08/08/2006 18:14:43 GMT Daylight Time From:  To:  Sent from the Internet (Details) Dear Residents,We had an overflow to a screenings handling in the inlet of Mogden's eastside on Sunday evening.  This caused a temporary increase in odour whilethe sewage and the screenings that had overflowed were cleaned up, and theblockage that caused the problem was partially cleared.The machinery that was blocked was sealed overnight and the cleaning workwas finished the next morning.  While the machinery was sealed, it would nolonger have caused an increase in odour.Thames Water sincerely apologises for the odour and any inconveniencecaused to local residents, and for the delay in notifying you.If you no longer want to receive emails about Mogden Sewage TreatmentWorks, please reply to this email with "unregister" as the subject line.Regards,ElaineElaine CobbCustomer Communications Consultant (Wastewater)

Steve Taylor ● 6869d

It seems the Jehovah's rally at Twickenham RFU was again marred by the disgusting Mogden stench which Vanessa claims has "improved" Here's what one resident has reported "The smell on Sunday morning around 10 o'clock was appalling - I went to Tesco and the visiting Jehovahs Witnesses were all commenting on it through pulled up tops! Arnold Crescent Resident"

Steve Taylor ● 6870d

The Mogden Residents' Action Group (MRAG) has asked me to post its latest Mogden Update on TW8   Dear Residents (copied blind to protect privacy) Mogden Odour and Mosquito complaintsDuring June and July you have experienced the worst Mogden odour and mosquitoes ever recorded (based on complaints received) as Thames Water continue to fail the community, fail to take action, fail to employ on site after hours management to deal with complaints and refuse to allow MRAG Committee members to attend the now farcical 'Residents' liaison meetings, we presume because the company is terrified of being faced with questions from the MRAG panel of experts. We have seen no improvement in August  as the site continues to fail and  complaints continue to be received. This last weekend residents suffered  again because the site suffered yet another sludge spill  at a wash pactor.  Complaints  for June and July have now been posted on the Twickenham OnLine Community Website  www.mogden.org.uk    Click on complaints and then click on the Month to see the individual complaints and you can see that the problem has escalated from Whitton, Twickenham, throughout Isleworth, Hounslow  across to St Margarets. Some residents tried to complain directly to Thames Water via the Thames OnLine Complaints Form or via email but received no response from  Thames Water.  A total disgrace. We have asked Thames Water's External Affairs & Environmental Director, Richard Aylard, to visit Mogden to see for himself but he has refused to respond.  We have asked Hounslow Council to take more of an interest  in the complaints but they have advised  "It is not possible to reply to each individual complaint "  We have asked why it isn't possible but they have not responded. It certainly should be possible as they are the local authority. If they cannot respond to residents' complaints they are not fit for purpose.  In any event please continue to log your complaints via MRAG so that we can map the areas being affected. We will continue to keep Thames Water and Environmental Services informed even if they refuse to respond.More Thames Water failures hereunder for your interest.22 June 2006 Thames Water has missed its target for reducing leakages for the third year in a row. 19 July 2006  UK water regulator Ofwat is planning to fine Thames Water for failing to meet adequate levels of customer service. Ofwat has the power to fine Thames Water as much as £140m The Thames Water announcement comes two weeks after the firm escaped a penalty for not fixing leaking pipes quickly enough. "From the evidence we have seen it is clear that Thames Water has failed to meet performance standards," said Philip Fletcher, chairman of the Water Services Regulation Authority. "The failures were within the company's control, and some customers have not received the standard of service to which they are entitled," he added. "As a result customers' interests have been damaged." "This is a clear warning to Thames Water that it must be focused on delivering the services that customers have paid for," Mr Fletcher said. Wednesday's threat of a fine comes as Ofwat is conducting a wider examination of Thames Water's customer service performance.26 July 2006 -  Thames Water heads pollution list Thames Water was fined more than any other firm in England and Wales for pollution last year, the Environment Agency has said. Mogden Residents Action GroupMRAGWorst Summer on record for residents neighbouring Thames Water's Mogden site.JUNE / JULY  COMPLAINTS AGAINST THAMES WATER FOR SEWAGE ODOUR AND MOSQUITOES WERE THE HIGHEST SINCE MRAG STARTED RECORDING RESIDENTS' COMPLAINTS IN JULY 2002. DETAILS OF THESE COMPLAINTS ARE AVAILABLE ON www.mogden.org.ukFollowing MRAG's campaign backed by residents' complaints and a petition signed by over 3,000 residents, OFWAT have approved £40 million ( ratepayers money ) of an estimated £50 million required to deal exclusively with the Mogden odour problem over the next five years. Thames Water have thus far refused to contribute to the £50 million  funding required to complete the job satisfactorily.for latest information on Mogden Residents Action Group go to OnLine Communities Ltd Website www.mogden.org.uk For News and Views on local community issues visit http://www.twickenham-online.co.uk/

Steve Taylor ● 6871d

n/m

Simon Anderson ● 6878d

Maybe Mrs Smith wants to Live where I live the stench is terrible still and Mosquitoes are hard bitters so I dont understand where she gets that from.Als Hundreds of Residents on Ivybridge have signed up to the Legal Case threw IVYTAG so what all us Local people must be getting it wrong then...

Simon Anderson ● 6881d