Thames Water claim to be working hard to solve the problem of a higher level of smell coming from Acton Pumping Station.

This week they have cleaned out the wet wall. They have apologised for the need to do some night time work during the operation.

They are experiencing technical problems with a piece of equipment on site and it is affecting the cleaning of the tanks at the Acton storm pumping station.

As the storm tanks are not emptying as quickly as they should, sewage is staying in the tanks for longer than they would like, creating more of a smell at the site.

They are still unable to give a timetable for when the work will be completed but say their teams on site are working hard to fix the problem as soon as possible.

Preventing further odour problems in the future may take longer, as the exact problem with the equipment at Acton Pumping Station remains a mystery. The jet-mixing system which cleans the tanks has not been functioning properly, leaving a dirty residue at the bottom.

To diagnose the problem, Thames Water has called in a specialist contractor to run tests at the station.

August 16, 2014