A 350ft high shower of sh**e is what would erupt from the underground tank at Llanerch should it breech. Those are the claims of two men who claim to have the expert and detailed knowledge of the town’s sewer system and who have been involved in construction and development for a combined period of 80 years.
It follows the comments by Plaid Cymru’s AM Simon Thomas who asked people referring to the tank as a sewage tank to go and do their homework claiming that the tank stored rainwater.
Former Llanelli Town Mayor and County Councillor Bill Thomas described the AM’s claims as ‘either idiotic or an out and out lie’ and warned of the consequences of a breech of the tank. Speaking to Llanelli Online Bill Thomas said: “We have a situation here where a tank, which is gravity fed from a height of 350 ft at Swiss Valley has the potential to erupt sending that pressurised sewage to an equidistant height of 350ft into the air. We have already seen the sh**e back up and rise up as far as Heol Goffa. The council’s own press officer Ron Cant will confirm this as he wrote the articles at the time. The sewage was rising up out of the drains that far up from the tank.”
Bill Thomas is not alone in his worse case scenario warning for possible disasters at Llanerch relating to the underground sewage tank.
Huw Woodford-Rock is also a 40 year veteran in the construction industry having been an architect and surveyor on numerous building developments where he had to oversee the work on the sewer systems. Speaking to Llanelli Online he said: “That tank cost in the region of £4mil and it is a combined sewage tank. It has not worked as Bill is rightly claiming. Whoever is making the claim that it is a rainwater storage tank is making a fool of himself. Bill is right when he says that an eruption would cause a fountain. You only have to look at Chatsworth House. That fountain is fed from a feeder lake some 300ft above ground. No one can guarantee that the tank will not breech. As an engineer I have seen huge constructions uplifted by the pressure from underground water. Let’s not forget that the field is on a flood plain and right next to the river Lliedi”
Llanelli Town Councillors representing the Lleidi Ward have come out in force to categorically support the fight to retain Llanerch Field as a green field for community use and reinstate the field onto the Town Council’s asset transfer list. The Lliedi Ward councillors issued the following press release:
The following is the response from Llanelli Lliedi Ward councillors to the ongoing issue of whether the Llanerch playing field is the correct site for the proposed new Ysgol Dewi Sant School. I have been asked to submit to the news sites on behalf of the councillors for the Lliedi Ward.
As councillors in Lliedi Ward in Llanelli we support Heather Peters and Sharon Burdess in their fight to save the green field site at Llanerch playing field where plans have been put forward to build the new Ysgol Dewi Sant School. The councillors are concerned that the other proposed sites that were considered for the new school were dismissed as unsuitable for the new build without any formal consultation.
The Town Council supports the initiative to retain as many green field sites in Llanelli as possible and has sent a letter to Village Greens supporting the fight to retain Llanerch playing field as a recreational area. As the representatives of the ward we will endeavour to reinstate the Llanerch playing field into the Asset Transfer plans for parks and open spaces in Llanelli.
The councillors from county and town in Lliedi Ward are unhappy that councillors that are far removed from Llanelli are making decisions that affect the local residents of Llanelli blighting their recreational areas in the ward.
Councillors from Lliedi Ward: County Councillors Rob James & Shahana Najmi.
Town Councillors: Jan Williams, Shahana Najmi, Philip Warlow, Sara Griffiths, Chris Griffiths.
UPDATE 23/10 16:14
Response from Simon Thomas AM/AC
“The tweets I sent were in response to a Twitter account which has been claiming “sewerage tanks” present at Llanerch fields.
“The indepedent report commissioned for this project in fact describes them as water “attenuation tanks” http://www.asbriplanning.co.uk/uploads/Ysgol%20Dewi/Water%20Quality%20Statement%20Rev%20A.pdf
“My attention has been drawn to this explanation of “attenuation tanks” provided by Dwr Cymru:”
In terms of DCWW apparatus on the site, it has been established that a number of attenuation tanks have been constructed under the recreational ground to the North of the site.
The tanks are used to relieve flooding in the area. During storm conditions, for instance periods of heavy rain, the tanks store diluted wastewater to control the flow of water in the pipes. This helps to alleviate flooding in the area and prevent wastewater spillages. Once the flooding recedes the diluted wastewater gravitates back into the combined system.
“We are all aware that in times of extreme weather, excess rainwater and foul water can get mixed in the Llanelli catchment. Dealing with this is one of the problems faced by the Rainscape and other works going on in the area.
“However, I feel the use of the descriptions used by opponents of this site such as “sewerage tanks” and “sewerage works” to be misleading and designed to scaremonger.
“I believe I was as accurate as possible given the limitations of Twitter but thank you for this opportunity to expand.
“I am sure residents can now make up their own minds and participate in the consultation.”
