Chelmsford residents who suffer sewage overflowing into their gardens and homes after heavy rain are being promised "short term" relief by Anglian Water.
But the company admits it cannot guarantee that the work will necessarily solve the problem if the "exceptional" rainfall of the past two years happens again.
It says that the sewer - which serves hundreds of homes in the Longstomps Avenue and Princes Road area is running at full capacity - but there's currently no money to build a new one at a cost of several million pounds.
Residents fear that more homes being built in the area will exacerbate the problem.
Chelmsford MP Simon Burns and local Cllr Philip Firth have been battling on behalf of residents.
James Mitchell, Service Development Manager for Anglian Water said it could take from 3 to 8 months to get permission to put the short-term solution into effect. Longer-term solutions included building a whole new sewer at a cost of several million pounds.
He said Anglian Water would not allow any new connections into the sewer in this area and made recommendations to both Chelmsford Borough Council and the developers about where they could connect to the system.
More in the latest Essex Chronicle
Published Friday, March 15, 2002
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