Something smelly may be in the air!

11:29am Thursday 15th May 2008

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AFTER a period of relative quiet, sewage smells could be wafting across the area in the coming days.

Thames Water, which operates the Crossness sewage sludge incinerator in Belvedere Road, Abbey Wood, has closed the two incinerator streams for essential maintenance.

The shutdown began on May 6 and will last for 16 days.

As part of this work all sludge incineration at the plant will stop for seven days.

This will mean sewage coming into Crossness from across London will have to be moved off the site in lorries.

Other emergency work will also have to be done, which will mean another two-day shutdown, when the sewage will be held in covered storage tanks.

The company said: "This has been done before with no significant impact on odour."

But it admits: "Should the weather be hot at any time, the odour impact is likely to be greater."

Residents across Bexley, and especially in Belvedere, have been plagued with smells from the site for years.

This problem was at its worst in 2003 and 2004, when large amounts of sewage was stored on-site.

The plant's incinerators could not cope with the sludge because it was "too wet".

Sewage had to be taken from the site in covered lorries and the smell was so overpowering, Bexley Council took the company to court.

Thames Water agreed to make improvements to the site and the stench has largely disappeared Belvedere councillor David Leaf, who has been in contact with the company, said: "As the weather is getting warmer, even a slight increase in odour can cause misery to many residents."

He added: "It's important efforts are made to ensure residents don't have their summer ruined by the stench from Crossness."

Thames Water says it will try to minimise the impact on residents of any smells coming from the site while the work is done.

It has also applied for planning permission to install permanent equipment for cleaning the plant's storm tanks, which should help reduce sewage smells.

However, there could be a stink when the cleaning takes place and the company is in talks with the environmental health department to see how this can be minimised.