AN innovative filtering device has been installed in Cirencester to protect homes from sewer flooding.

 Thames Water set up the mobile sewage filter unit, by the park on Hereward Road, an area that has been prone to flooding, on Friday January 8

The device  is designed to protect the environment by biologically filtering out the most harmful elements of sewage if sewers are overwhelmed and the excess water has to be diverted away from properties into water courses or fields.

Thames Water’s head of waste water control, Anthony Crawford, said: “We hope we don’t need to put it into action but, should the worst happen, we’re ready to do all we can to protect customers and the environment.

“This proactive approach is based on careful monitoring of our own information and that from organisations such as the Environment Agency and the Met Office, and enables us to put measures in place before flooding happens. Using the filter unit will be a last resort as we want to operate normally for as long as possible by pumping everything from the sewers away for treatment.”

The £20,000 unit is currently on standby as volumes in the sewer network are manageable, but with river levels on the up following the weekend’s rain Thames Water teams are on high alert.

Cotwold District Council's cabinet member for Health, Environment and Communities, Sue Coakley  said: “I have been impressed with the proactive approach taken by Thames Water during the recent heavy rain. I welcome the provision of the filtration system as a further precautionary measure although I, like Thames Water, hope that it will not be necessary to put it into use.”

During and after heavy rain, especially if groundwater levels are already high, pumps which send sewage to a treatment works can get overwhelmed by extreme volumes of water.

Previously, sewage was diverted into watercourses or to fields to stop it flooding streets and homes.

This new equipment means, should the situation arise again, the most harmful elements in the sewage will be filtered out by the unit before the water enters the environment. It will stay in place for as long as there is a risk of flooding.

The unit is one of 10 purchased by the company following the record wet winter two years ago.

Cotswold MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, said he welcomed the installation of the unit.

He said: “A pool of sewage in a public park in Cirencester, which is what we have seen in previous years, is unacceptable.”