The misery goes on for fed-up Lee Erwin, whose 100ft garden is still a soggy quagmire after weeks of mysterious leaks of foul-smelling sewage.
The 46-year-old, who lives on Rowley Lane in Lepton, is at his wits’ end over the continuing disruption to daily life, caused by regular flooding of his garden.
He had hoped Yorkshire Water had traced the source of the stinking soil water that bubbles up into his property, making his garden a no-go area for him, wife Janet and their prize show dogs.
But after weeks of regular visits by Yorkshire Water specialists and workmen who dug a trench, he’s no closer to getting an answer. What was once a lawn is now a pile of sludge. The 10ft by 3ft hole fills up so quickly that it requires pumping out on a daily basis. The water is put into a tank and taken away.
“The garden is still letting in water,” said Lee. "The weeks just turn into months and it seems like they are starting to forget about us again. We sincerely hope that they aren’t, but we aren’t holding our breaths.
“The garden is exactly the same although drier as the pump team come most days, make a mess and lots of noise, which upsets both my neighbours and the dogs.
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“The weeks of promises from Yorkshire Water to fix the problem turn into months and our motivation is at an all-time low. We are at our wits’ end and really feel like leaving this property that we have love and nurtured for the last 18 months, but how the hell can we? Who would want this ugly mess?”
A spokesperson for Yorkshire Water said the Erwins’ case was complex and required further investigation.
“Understanding the source of the flooding at Mr Erwin’s house is a priority for our teams in the area. In complex cases like this it’s often a process of elimination until we find the source of the flooding.
“We carried out further investigations over the weekend (September 16/17) where we have broadened the area of our search. We have subsequently arranged for a repair to be carried out on our sewer pipe network and on some private drainage gullies some distance away from Mr Erwin’s house. This will be completed next week.
“After these repairs have been done we will of course be re-visiting to check whether they have resolved the flooding Mr Erwin is experiencing. We continue to keep Mr Erwin fully up to date on the work that we are undertaking.”