Merton Council is calling on Thames Water to take "urgent action" after the centre of Raynes Park was left underwater after flash flooding.
On Monday ( July 12), police closed several areas including; Coombe Lane, Worple Road, Abbott Avenue and the railway underbridges at Approach Road and Lower Downs due to torrential rain.
The flooding caused severe damage to homes and businesses across Raynes Park.
See more: Shop owners forced to clean up after raw sewage covers streets
“Monday’s storm was as unexpected as it was extreme, with more than a month’s worth of rain falling in just an hour," commented a Thames Water spokesperson.
"Some areas even experienced the kind of rain we only see once every 50 or 100 years.
“Our sewers are designed to carry huge amounts of water, but there was so much stormwater the pipes simply couldn’t take it away fast enough.
"The network quickly became overwhelmed. In the majority of places, the water drained away once the flash storm had passed."
In his letter to Thames Water, Councillor Allison wrote: “I’m requesting Thames Water’s urgent respond to tackling the severe flooding that continues to cause serious disruption and damage to homes, businesses and infrastructure in Merton.
“The occurrences of flooding in Raynes Park have happened every summer for the past five years and now significant investment is required from Thames Water to upgrade assets which are not maintained regularly and are not fit for purpose.
“The Thames Water pumping station at Abbot Avenue has failed every year for the past five years and has resulted in sewage spills and manhole surcharging foul water across the entire road.
“It is now critical that Thames Water sets out how it intends to alleviate these issues before residents suffer any further disruption.”
See more: Pictures show Raynes Park 'totally underwater'
Thames Water confirmed to Wimbledon Times that they have received the letter from Merton Council and will "respond in due course".
“Watching your home or business fill with flood water must be devastating and we sympathise with everyone affected," said a spokesperson for Thames Water.
“We’ve been visiting affected customers to arrange clean-ups of their properties and have members of our customer support team in the area.
"If properties or possessions have been damaged by flood water, we advise customers to contact their insurers.
"We’re already investing more than £4 billion on London’s new ‘super sewer’, the Thames Tideway Tunnel.
"When it opens in 2025, the 15-mile-long tunnel will safely take away more rain and wastewater than ever before.
“We’ve helped install award-winning urban planting schemes in several London boroughs that can reduce flooding by up to 90 per cent by soaking up rainwater before slowly releasing it into the sewers.
"We’re now extending the work to other areas in London.
“And last year we cleaned a record 1,500km of sewers across London and the Thames Valley, and have set an ambitious target of 2,300km this year.”
"We look forward to continue working with all local authorities, with whom we share responsibility for flooding alongside the Environment Agency, on viable and sustainable solutions to combat two of the main causes of flooding – climate change and population growth."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here