A lot of Poo with nowhere to go...

TrueBlue

TrueBlue

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On my travels this week I discover to my annoyance that EA's pumpout equipment from Sunbury to Culham is unavailable.

That's a helluva long distance to keep it bottled up!!

There are very few EA pumpouts anyway and to have two important units withdrawn is a disaster.
Boveney is not available UFN (according to VisitThames.
Shiplake is OO due to Thames water who's sewer pipe is again blocked. This not only inconveniences boaters but the lockie and nearby users as well.
Last time I understand TW took ages to clear it.
In addition the new all singing dancing hi tech-middle-of-the-layby facility at Mapledurham - said to have cost £350K is only available during lockies hours (whatever they are).
Some could say that Pumpouts are no part of EA's business (sic!), but not are they are conveniently sited for boats, they give something extra in return for the registration fee.

To my mind if there were -say- a couple of extra locations on the network, it might help, especially as breakdowns take an inordinate time to fix.

Hurley for one seems a good candidate, especially as facilities are going to be upgraded this winter. It has a long layby and mains sewerage connection (?).

So how about it EA.

(B1 - I will let Reading know when I return)
 
Not in any way excusing the situation but there are several commercial stations if you really are up to your gunwhales in the stuff........

Penton Hook, Kris Kruisers, Windsor Marina, Thames and Kennet, Caversham Boats to name a few.

For the Visit Thames website just to say Boveney is not available until further notice seems an inadequate statement and no info I can see about Shiplake at all.

Some time ago I did suggest to Reading that maintaining availability of the pumpouts should be a key priority and asked why they could not write contracts with their contractors which required remedial action within 24 hours - seems reasonable to me that the services should work if they are being made available.

I understand that pumpout facilities were planned and approved at the new Wallingford moorings but there was insufficient funding.
 
boatone said:
Not in any way excusing the situation but there are several commercial stations if you really are up to your gunwhales in the stuff........

Penton Hook, Kris Kruisers, Windsor Marina, Thames and Kennet, Caversham Boats to name a few.

For the Visit Thames website just to say Boveney is not available until further notice seems an inadequate statement and no info I can see about Shiplake at all.

Some time ago I did suggest to Reading that maintaining availability of the pumpouts should be a key priority and asked why they could not write contracts with their contractors which required remedial action within 24 hours - seems reasonable to me that the services should work if they are being made available.

I understand that pumpout facilities were planned and approved at the new Wallingford moorings but there was insufficient funding.
Click to expand...

We knew "nothing" either, until I saw a notice at Marsh (Monday late afternoon). Got more details at the lock. I got the impression that it might take some time; especially with hindsight.

Now with 400+ Narrowboats converging on Beale Park by Saturday and countless Dutch Barges, the system may become - umm, constipated.

Not a disaster but the marinas are not such good value being 25% more at least, and if they are provided, they should work.

Being "kind" to EA, I gather that folk put a lot of unrelated things into the sanitary systems (that includes bucket-and-chuckit facilities), coins, bottles rags - apart from those things you might expect to find their way in inadvertently.

When they break down, as they do, then they should be fixed with a reasonable degree of urgency. Rubbish disposal (another area that is abused) is widely available, presumably to avoid boating flytipping, so why not working pumpouts?
 
... Not just big boats are affected. We met about 20 teenagers in canoes at Shiplake... Most needing facilities. We almost offered ours, but I don't yet know my capacity!
 
We all know how this solves itself.....

And as we know, little if no enforcement.

Perhaps better not to swim in river during September....
 
I have noticed a reduction in rubbish disposal sites as well, notably Sunbury and Bell Weir, and that is just local stretch we use, not sure about the rest. Very poor show on such a short stretch of river. Bell Weir said it was due to difficulties with the contractor, Sunbury apparently because the vehicle can't get there. To be honest, EA is the customer here, get their flippin' contractor to sort themselves out or take the contract elsewhere, simples in my mind!
 
lenseman said:
There is a female skipper with a 40 foot mobo from Abingdon Marina who doesn't care about pump out. She just goes out into mid river and empties her blackwater tanks straight into the Thames. She has always done this and I think it is disgusting! :mad:

She claims to be a solicitor!
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If true, a serious offence and one for which she should be prosecuted. BUT....... how do you know this? Or do you only have suspicions? Have you, or anyone else, reported it to the authorities?
 
Originally Posted by teddington_lock:
Molesey has a pumpout ( one lock down from Sunbury ) that is working to my knowledge.

Reply from Andrew Fanner:I failed to take advantage of this on Friday last, only to discover that the one at Thames Ditton was u/s when I went for fuel.
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That the Molesey pump out was working has/had no bearing on the fact that Boveney and Shiplake were both out of action thus leaving no EA facility between Abingdon and Molesey - a goodly stretch of the river and a three day cruise for most people - a long time to be in need of emptying the poo tank.

However, my real complaint - and it was a complaint I raised with Reading, was the totally inadequate dissemination of information which would have informed boaters who might then have been able to make decisions with knowledge aforethought rather than "oh bugger, Boveney's out of action so where do we pump the gunk now?"

A couple of chalk boards at nearbye locks and a well hidden notice on the EA VisitThames website that Boveny was out of order "until further notice" - no mention of Shiplake whatsoever - does not IMHO constitute a timely and useful provision of information to river users.

Within an hour or two of my complaint ~I was advised that the website was being updated to reflect that Boveney was operational and, indeed, within an hour the bit about it being out of order was removed. I also received advice from Wallingford that Thames Water were actively working on the problem at Wargrave which was the cause of the Shiplake problem but I have yet to see any information at all on the website.

What you will find on the website - if you look hard enough - is a notice about the removal of Rubbish Disposal facilities at Sunbury:
http://www.visitthames.co.uk/uploads/Sunbury - refuse disposal.pdf
 
boatone said:
If true, a serious offence and one for which she should be prosecuted. BUT....... how do you know this? Or do you only have suspicions? Have you, or anyone else, reported it to the authorities?
Click to expand...

A mutual friend who used to be a BSS examiner, said often that most boats he tested were emptying direct into the river....

As a club we used to ask Teddington for the crimp seals to lock the seacocks off when we came inland but the emphasis was always on us to ask for them.

Never in 35years ever seen anyone demand to see them or check them.
 
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What you will find on the website - if you look hard enough - is a notice about the removal of Rubbish Disposal facilities at Sunbury:
http://www.visitthames.co.uk/uploads...20disposal.pdf
>>>
Should I have said something? Its my home turf and has resulted in taking rubbish home in the car. There have been issues with litter on King's Lawn on the Sunbury side when the bins have been full, responsible boaters trying to avoid making a mess. Sunbury rubbish collection has been iffy for a while, the contracted company have been, at times, a bit shy of bringing their truck down the single tracked road to the rubbish point. The building works have caused the disabled lockside parking to be closed which has been an issue for some.

In my days of chemibogs (the iPoo?) I always felt that there should be more disposal points, now I have a tank I'd like another EA pumpout twixt Molesey and Boveney. Bell Weir would do me:-)
 
I suspect Steve will have reported it.

apollo said:
As a club we used to ask Teddington for the crimp seals to lock the seacocks off when we came inland but the emphasis was always on us to ask for them.

Never in 35years ever seen anyone demand to see them or check them.
Click to expand...

When we are going through the visitors licence form with customers , one question we ask is Number 8 , does your lavatory discharge into the river ?

If it does we will seal it . Ok , it relies on peoples honesty , but in the real world , what else is practical for us to do ?

Do you honestly expect us to clamber on board every single boat coming up river and inspect it ( not that we are qualified or allowed to ) , lift up all the hatches and trace the pipes to confirm where the waste goes ?

How would you reply if i 'demanded' to inspect the inside of your boat ? I suspect it would be a two word answer beginning with a word rhyming with duck .

You wouldn't beleive how difficult it can be to get a rubbish truck down to some of the locks. We've heard every excuse under the sun from Biffa ..... they haven't got a key !! Yes they have .... The gate was closed !! Open it then with your key ... They couldn't find you !! Really ? .... etc etc etc ad infinitum ....

It can be so frustrating sometimes because we get it in the neck from you guys when we are trying our best , and things go wrong through no fault of ours.
 
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It can be so frustrating sometimes because we get it in the neck from you guys when we are trying our best , and things go wrong through no fault of ours.
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T'ain't your fault, but its the curse of being the public face of the body perceived to be at fault. Been there, endured that!

When I had the BSC done in April the examiner had to get me to tell him where all the pipes went twxt loo and tank and that was for someone who surveys and inspects boats for a living. Maybe I'm law abiding but I expect if the lock keeper asked nicely to have a look inside the boat I would moor up at the waiitng pontoon and put the kettle on:-)
 
Molesey pump out still out of action this morning and no real indication of when it will be returned to service. I understand work is in the hands of contractors and parts are needed.

Nothing about it on visitthames website although there is a place for them to tell us these things:

http://www.visitthames.co.uk/text/1480/closures_and_restrictions.html

It's right at the bottom of the page in the Facilities section - at least it would be ...if it was there ! :D
 
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