OXFORD City Council is being urged to carry out repairs to the duck pond in Cutteslowe Park after sewage seeped into it.

Templar Road resident Pete Goodgame reported what appeared to be sewage flowing in the brook and into the pond on Wednesday, September 3.

Oxford City Council said it had reported the problem to Thames Water on the Friday, after being alerted by the Friends of Cutteslowe, and it had been fixed the next day.

But 69-year-old Mr Goodgame said he feared permanent damage had been done to wildlife in the pond, which is now badly affected by algae.

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He said: “I was just walking my dog around the park and there was sewage flowing down the brook. I reported it to [the city council], but I could still see it was running into the pond on Thursday and Friday, until someone else I knew called Thames Water.

“They sent a lorry to pump the sewage away on Saturday morning, but you could see a layer of sewage lying on top of the duck pond. I think it fed bacteria, because you could see something growing on it.

“People pay good money for these places to be looked after, they should have dealt with this much more quickly than they did.”

Summertown city councillor Jean Fooks said the pond was in need of repair and should be an urgent priority for the city council.

Mrs Fooks said: “I regret that the sewage leak was not identified and dealt with much faster and am disappointed that parks staff have not addressed the algae on the pond.

“The pond itself is in need of urgent repair or the walls may collapse at any moment. It should be an urgent priority for the city council.”

Council spokesman Chofamba Sithole said the problem had been caused by sewage seeping through the ground from Thames Water’s pumping station in Sparsey Place. He said: “We received a call from a member of the Friends of Cutteslowe group on Friday evening about the pumping station in Sparsey Place not working correctly and sewage seeping into the water course through the park.

“This is something that happens every now and then, and Thames Water are aware of it. We immediately informed Thames Water, who sent an operative out in just over an hour to look at the problem.

“On Saturday morning we were informed by Thames Water that the problem had been dealt with.”

A council officer had inspected the pond again on Saturday, he added, and found remaining evidence of sewage.

“This was reported to Thames Water, who assured us that this would naturally disperse within the following 48 hours.

“We have been monitoring the area since and it all appears to be running freely with no evidence of any contamination.”


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