WATER leaking into a March church has turned out to be anything but "Holy" – as it is contaminated with sewage.
It has now been established the gallons pouring into the cellar of the Trinity Church in High Street are contaminated.
Fenland environmental health officer Rob Gibling has confirmed tests have shown a high level of bacteria.
It is thought the sew
age is filtering through the soil and Mr Gibling believes the source could be some distance away, making it difficult to trace and stop.
He is suggesting sealing off a pipe as most of the water seems to be coming from an old drain.
It is thought the earthquake a few months ago could have damaged brick work in the old drainage pipe as the water started to pour through after the quake.
Mr Gibling is suggesting blocking off the old cellar drain and sealing the pipe – carrying on with the pumping in the meantime.
People have been warned not to drink the water and anyone coming into contact with it should wash thoroughly.
There was hope initially that the water might be from a pure spring source which could be bottled and sold to raise money for the church.
Property Steward Reg Kemp said all will be done to make sure no one drinks the water, which is currently being pumped out at the rate of 200 gallons a day into a nearby drain.
Mr Kemp said the church will look into the possibility of blocking off the drain but he is concerned the leakage could lead to serious damage.
"Our concern about that, however, is inevitably the considerable volume of water will find some other route adjacent to our building which may damage the foundations or cause other unforeseen problems," said Mr Kemp, who believes more needs to be done to trace the cause of the leak.
The church is currently undergoing repairs to the hall extension after subsidence was discovered earlier in the year. An appeal was launched to help raise several thousands of pounds needed to pay for the work.
The full article contains 350 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
