Human sewage proves a farm pong too strong (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Human sewage proves a farm pong too strong

THE putrid smell that hung in the air at the end of last week was due to composted human sewage being spread on fields in Rowde.

Kennet District Council's environmental health department received about 20 complaints from residents unhappy at the smell but said there was nothing illegal about it.

The spreading of the sludge is done under licence on behalf of Wessex Water which provides it free of charge to farmers.

The sludge was spread on fields off Consciences Lane and Tanis in Rowde by farmer Jim Butler.

He said: "We are helping Wessex Water, it's not a money making operation for us.

"Human sewage used to be disposed of in the sea and I think we are better to put up with a bit of a smell rather than having pollution in the Bristol Channel.

"We are sorry for the smell, I know it's not very nice, but we have done everything we can to try and reduce it."

The stench was first noticed on Thursday and for some residents and workers it was so foul that they closed their windows.

Gordon Hancock, a resident of Park View, Devizes, said he could smell the stench until midday on Saturday.

He said: "This smell was obnoxious and I have never smelt anything so bad. I couldn't keep my windows at home open because of the stench and it gave me a headache and sore throat."

Mr Hancock, a retired farmer who farmed in Wales, said: "Why they are allowed to spread human sewage I don't know. It's an abomination and a health hazard. What about the wildlife in the area, there's foxes and badgers and they could spread it into other areas."

Mr Hancock was also concerned that it could have affected tourist trade.

He said: "Devizes is a tourist town and any tourist arriving in the Market Place and smelling that stench would probably have got back in their car and driven off."

A spokesman for Wessex Water said: "Bio solids, as they are known, is sludge left over at the end of the sewage treatment process and is regularly used as fertiliser

"By law farmers have to plough it into the earth within 48 hours although we ask them to do it in 24 hours."

Mandy Bradley, head of environmental health at Kennet District Council, liaised with the Environment Agency and Wessex Water when the council received complaints.

Mrs Bradley said: "It's a recognised form of sewage disposal. It's composted sewage sludge. It has gone through the treatment process at the sewage works then through a further composting process which destroys most of the pathogens and it is tested before it is released to make sure it reaches a certain standard before it is spread.

"People can't catch E coli or salmonella from it. We have been given assurances by Wessex Water that it is not an airborne spread situation."

Jo Batchelor, chairman of Devizes Chamber of Commerce, adopted a philosophical stance.

She said: "It was a pretty foul smell but we do live in the country. We did get a few comments about the smell from people who came into our shop but we have not noticed a drop in trade in the town."

John Chandler, chairman of the Calne, Devizes and Pewsey branch of the NFU had sympathy with residents but said farmers had a job to do.

"It is quite common for farmers to use human effluent, it's degradable and is very good for the soil. Farmers don't deliberately set out to cause offence. The smells of nature are not always sweet."