Villagers have complained of seeing used toilet roll in a field where raw sewage is bubbling up from the ground.
The Barrington residents have spotted the filthy water and residue on land next to Foxton Road, close to the local sewage works.
Some have posted on social media that the leaks may be due to storm water and queried whether there is not enough capacity for sewage for the new-build houses close by.
Anglian Water has admitted there is a leak following heavy rain but could not confirm whether the new houses were contributing to the issue.
One resident told the village Facebook page: “Avoid the water on the road by the sewage treatment plant… the plant is unable to cope with the volume of water and new builds and storm water. The only way it can cope is to discharge sewage onto farmland and the road.”
Another resident noted: “Every now and then you can see bits of bog roll in the ditches”.
A third said they had noticed the water on the road “stank of urine”.
The affected sewage works and the flooded area are at Foxton Road close to the railway crossing. New housing has been built at a former quarry site called Chapel Hill.
Anglian Water explained the network is being affected by the high groundwater levels following the heavy downpours in recent days.
Groundwater levels remain very high following the wet winter – currently they are still 10 metres higher than previous years. This means the excess water is finding ways into the network, leaving less room for sewage.
Anglian Water said: “Our local team have been working to identify where these flows are entering our network, but these have been paused due to the networks being full by the excess rainwater. Once these levels abate, we will undertake a full clean up and further investigations will continue. We’re working alongside other agencies who are responsible for surface water management – such as the Environment Agency and the local council – to work through the issues with groundwater.”
It added that the water company is not a statutory consultee on planning applications and that they “haven’t yet been able to determine whether the team think this is adding to the problem.”
Anglian Water has a duty to manage new connections to the sewage system in accordance under Section 94 of the Water Industry Act 1991, making it duty bound to ensure capacity.
An Anglian Water spokesperson added: “Our teams are working hard to keep our sewer network running despite the sudden heavy downpour we’ve seen this week.
“In Barrington, the ongoing rainfall combined with the already saturated ground following such a wet winter means that we’re seeing widespread infiltration into our sewer network – there is simply a lot of water with nowhere to go.
“It means that while our network is operating the best it can, there’s much less room for the sewage.
“Our teams are using tankers to take some of this excess water away and create more capacity in the network again.
“Responsibility for flooding and drainage requires response from many different organisations, businesses, and landowners. We are working with them already on a combined plan to address the issue in the long term.”
Similar issues have been seen in Littleport, Foxton and Ickleton.
