Residents of a street in Derry have demanded action be taken bring an end to a recurring sewage leakage they claim has plagued the area for the past six years.
The latest incident (pictured) occurred at Kildrum Gardens in Creggan after a sewer became blocked, resulting in sewage leaking onto a street where children were playing.
NI Water was contacted about the incident, after which it attended scene, cleared the blockage and carried out a clean-up of the area.
A field manager from NI Water met with the resident to discuss the issue, with a spokesperson adding it would be carrying out further investigations as ‘repair work to the sewer may be required’.
However, independent councillor for the area, Gary Donnelly, said residents were becoming increasingly frustrated with what he said was the lack of a long-term solution to the problem.
“This is a serious health and safety issue which first started in the street six years ago,” he said.
“In the latest incident, children were out playing in the good weather when the sewer became blocked and started overflowing out onto the street.
“NI Water came out and cleared the blockage and cleaned the place up.
“However, the residents see this as being nothing more than a cosmetic exercise, because NI Water do this every time the situation arises without actually addressing the problem.”
He added: “Some of the residents feel the blockage may be resulting from the construction of new homes which may have caused an overflow.”
“It’s up to NI Water to address this problem permanently before some gets sick as a result of these continued blockages and overflows.”
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