Out of sight out of mind

Peter Dimery relates how the River Usk saved lives from disease in the 19th century but became so polluted in the 20^th century that Newport County Borough Council had to deal with the problem

OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND. 

I came to Newport in 1964 to lead an engineering team to clean the waters of the River Usk Estuary. Had the footbridge been built then the smell from the waterborne waste in the river crossing would have been most unpleasant.

Why? 

Let’s go back even earlier to 1848. Newport was not a healthy place to be. There was a Public Inquiry. Its purpose, to examine the filthy urban living conditions, when sewage discharged into the streets causing various public health threats, including the spread of many diseases such as cholera and typhus. Click here to access The Clark Report of 1848. 

Here is part of the Inspectors report: “During the prevalence of the cholera epidemic the deaths have been, from the 31st May 1849 to the date of this Inquiry 112 persons.  I regret that I have not had time to refer to the mortality of infants during these past seven years.  I have however referred to the registry between 24th May 1848 and the 9th April 1849 and I find that out of 500 deaths 204 were of children of five years and under.  This from a population of 19,000 inhabitants."

The solution Clark proposed was to drain the sewage from the streets into the river estuary. It worked; conditions improved. But things change with time. The population grew together with urban industrialisation. 1960 population probably 130,000 persons. Much more sewage and industrial waste found its way into our now lifeless river estuary. Not only lifeless the smell on a sunny day competed with the brewery.

It was 1963 when Newport County Borough Council decided something had to be done knowing it would cost a vast sum of money. Our team included civil engineers, mechanical and electrical engineers and a chemist. Plus, a marvellous supporting technical and clerical staff. Our boss was the County Borough Engineer Mr Don Cartwright.

Initially the effort could be considered in two parts. To borrow the money the Council had to justify the need to the government. It was necessary to provide a better reason than just the smell. The river waters were monitored, analysed and the case made. At the same time the design work proceeded.

The watery waste discharged to the river through large diameter brick sewers. The flow from these pipes was intercepted and discharged into two large deep tunnels built on each side of the river. Pumping stations lifted this sewage and industrial waterborne waste and pumped the liquid to Nash where a large sewage works was built. The clean liquid was returned to the estuary near the old power stations

 The inside Newport Pumping Station 1915 

     

Newport Sewage Works under construction

Map showing Nash Sewerage Treatment Works - note the sludge beds
which look like blue ponds to the north of the map.

The solid residue – it’s called sludge by those who know about these things - was taken by a ship to the Irish sea in an ancient Greek ship we rented. The stories about this rusty vessel are adventures in themselves. The scheme was completed in 1976. I am certain things will have changed in the last 40 years for the better.

We all know that that the Severn estuary, has the second highest tidal range in the world. Something not so well known is how the Victorians dealt with a problem when in rained heavily. Of course, the rain could not drain into the river when the tide levels were high. So, our predecessors build large diameter sewers. They were large enough for a man to go through to remove debris. The large sewers stored the rainfall until the tide went out; only then could the stored water empty into the river. But as Newport grew so did the volume of water to be stored in these sewers increase.

Result flooding. In the 1960’s many of our now busy roads, for example Maindee square were impassable until the tide went out. Can you imagine the chaos now? But this was also sorted with Newport’s Main Drainage Scheme.

You may look over our new footbridge. You cannot see the engineering but you see an unpolluted river. Yes, it’s muddy as silt is imported and exported from the Bristol Channel on the tides. Many prefer it that way. I struggle not to say this but fail. Had it not been stopped; you would now be looking at a fresh water lake. Sailing canoeing, lakeside cafes mirrored in the evening sun. But the Newport tidal Estuary Barrage was not to be. A dream when I first came to Newport all those years ago and saw the river for the first time. You can’t win ‘em all.

Peter Dimery (2021)

Editor's notes - Other items of interest

1. Look for Peter Dimery's books on Amazon CITY-NEWPORTS-DRAINAGE-REVIEW

2 See National Archives for documents relating to Spytty Pill and Liswerry Pill and the construction of  sewage outfalls in 1969. Reference BR 356/1715 

3. The River still needs to be cleaned.  See South Wales Argus 23/02/2012 The picture shows DREDGERS are out on the River Usk in Newport as part of a clean-up operation in 2012. Boats were out on the water for two weeks as part of a project run by regeneration company Newport Unlimited to remove waste from the water. A similar project was run back in 2008.

4. For Nash Waste Treatment Works  click here on  Coflein the database of  RCAHMW the Royal Commission of Ancient Historical Monuments Wales.

5. A new turbine for more sustainable power for Nash Works provides over half the energy needs of the Nash works. See Conclusion to an article by Dwr Cymru - Welsh Water: Newport East (Nash) Wind Turbine (2018)

5. FLOODING: In the Newport Survey 1983 there is a section 'Water Water Everywhere' and another on 'Flood Prevention'. Newport's water came mainly from two large reservoirs fed by the Usk, one at Llandegfedd and one at Talybot. The water was tested at Welsh Water Laboratories to check for pollution before it went out to homes.  On Dec 13th 1981 the photographic survey undertaken as part of  Newport  Documentary Photography Course, under the auspices of  Newport University, recorded that the Usk broke its banks at Crindau which was before flood prevention schemes were put in place. Flooding has become more common. 

On 24th December 2020 The South Wales Argus reported 'Flooding on roads and difficult driving conditions in Wales

'Brilliant': Community unites to help elderly people on flooded Newport street -  

https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/18966906.community-helps-elderly-flooded-courtney-street---newport/

For Newport Council's flood prevention information see: 

http://www.newport.gov.uk/en/Transport-Streets/Road-Street-Maintenance/Report-A-Problem/Flooding.aspx

https://www.itv.com/news/wales/update/2014-01-03/river-usk-in-newport-on-brink-of-   bursting-its-banks/