CALLS have been made for an investigation into sewage treatment at the Hythe after a water firm was fined £1.2million over pollution in three counties. 

Colchester councillor Lee Scordis has pushed for an investigation into sewage at the Hythe after residents say they have been plagued with bad smells for decades. 

He has also called for an easier way for residents to report issues. 

It comes as Anglian Water was fined more than £1.2million after admitting to causing pollution in Cambridgeshire, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire in 2019.

The company also admitted to failing to comply with permit conditions, as well as causing poisonous, noxious or polluting matter to enter inland fresh waters in Cambridge.

There were no incidents reported in Essex. 

Mr Scordis said: “For the last thirty years, the smell from the sewage treatment plant has blanketed Old Heath and New Town.

“In the summer people are sitting in their gardens and they can smell sewage. We’ve been told people need to report it and the councillors can act. The main issue we’ve had is getting people to report it.

“What I proposed was for the council to look at the Cambridge case, investigate it and make it easier to report.

“The issue is the site is massively underinvested currently. The equipment being used there is from the 1980s.

 “It has been underinvested in by Anglian Water and now Colchester has to smell their own faecal matter as a result.

“I want this issue resolved. It could be done much easier by allowing residents a single point contact, where they can report such smells.”

A spokesperson for Anglian Water said: “Protecting, restoring and improving our region’s environment is at the heart of our business, and we take this responsibility incredibly seriously.

“All our equipment at Colchester Water Recycling Centre is monitored 24hours a day and our consent levels are well within the limits set out by the Environment Agency.

 “As the nearby watercourse is a catchment area for shellfish, we take extra measures at this site to ensure the final water is treated to an even higher standard, using UV technology, before being returned to the local environment.”