How poop became a family business for the Powell brothers

Phil and Ian Powell are among three generations who have worked at Severn Trent’s Minworth Sewage Treatment Works since the company was established 50 years ago.

The sprawling facility treats an average of 6,600 liters of sewage per second from nearly two million people in Birmingham and the Black Country, but can see that figure double during heavy storms.

And the Powells, who are all massive Aston Villa fans, have been at the heart of the operation since the Severn Trent Water Authority was launched in 1974, later becoming Severn Trent.

The brothers’ late father, Albert, joined the company that year and worked at the factory, which dates back to Victorian England.

Phil joined his father at Minworth in 1981, aged 21, before younger brother Ian arrived in 2005.

Phil’s son Jordan, daughter Dionne and even his wife Barbara previously worked at the site, while their grandson Ryan Conway was also employed there.

Together, the Powells have spent more than 75 years at the wastewater treatment plants, and father-of-two Phil is now one of Severn Trent’s longest-serving employees, having worked for the company for 42 years.

The senior technician, who grew up in Castle Bromwich, said: “My dad spent 20 years in the car trade at Morris and British Leyland.

“It was a time of strikes and you never got paid when you were on strike, so he had to do all kinds of jobs from cleaning windows to delivering bread and even picking spit to provide for his family.

“He saw an advert for what was to become Severn Trent and applied for a job at Coleshill incinerator and later moved to Minworth.

“He worked here for 20 years until he retired and loved his job.

“Dad actually told me about the role he had at Minworth in 1981 when I was working in plumbing and heating, which was good money in the winter but not in the summer.