SOUTHERN WATER FACES SCRUTINY OVER SEWAGE OVERFLOWS

Representatives from Southern Water faced serious questions from Wealden Councillors who wanted answers for the recent sewage spills and overflows across Hailsham and Hellingly.They were faced with major concerns from a number of councillors as to what measures are being taken, short-term and long-term, to prevent more residents from becoming victims of raw sewage in their homes and gardens. The Overview and Scrutiny Committee put Southern Water in councillors were quick to bombard Southern Water with an array of questions to find out what the authority is doing about the distress being caused to homeowners.

The first question came from Hellingly Councillor David White. He highlighted the problems in the area and gave shocking numbers of how many properties were planned to be connected to the system in the near future.

He said in the meeting: “We’ve been aware of a problem in Hellingly since 2017. When the river overtops, the system fails.

The residents have been told on many occasions there are plans to alleviate the problem. 620 homes are planned to join the current system - so what are the the capacities of the pumping station to

cope with the new homes?”

“I’d like to know what improvements you will carry out in the short term, as the last four weeks, you have been tankering out the sewage from the pipes on a daily basis from a system that doesn’t work!”

He added: “Station Road is the route for the delivery of school children, and we have primary school children walking through raw sewage- that is not satisfactory in the 21st century. I would like to know what immediate plans you have to upgrade that system, what is the timetable for that improvements and what are you going to do stop further properties being joined as you clearly cannot cope with what is there at the moment.”

Cllr Cleaver told the committee and representatives from Southern Water: “Hellingly is a total sham. I had an incident on Hawkswood Road on New Year’s Eve where six gardens were covered in foul water. Under one of the manholes is a flow sensor, is it not working or did you ignore it? People are paying you to do a service and you’re not providing that service. The residents on Hawkswood Road cannot move as their properties have devalued.”

40 Floods In 18 Years

On New Year’s Eve, six homes in the Hawkswood area of Hailsham suddenly became victims of overflowing drains following some heavy rainfall. The overflow contained raw sewage, wet wipes and dirty water - a resident told Hailsham News it has been happening for 18 years.

Antony Cannon, who lives on Hawkswood Road, says a problem in the sewer pipe underneath the main road has been ignored for so long, it cannot cope with the amount of flow, blocks up and regularly floods his garden.

He told Hailsham News: “The pipe is meant to be flushed out every three months, as it is prone to have a build-up of wet wipes and fat, but I’m not sure it happens that often as we’ve been flooded more than 40 times since we moved here.”

He added: “It’s just not acceptable. If it wasn’t for our local councillor Neil Cleaver on New Year’s Eve, our homes would have been flooded. He managed to make some calls which resulted in getting crews out to clear the blockage. When I called Southern Water, I was told to ring back when the water gets into our house, as then we would be moved up a category.”

Residents in the six nearby homes spent the evening preventing sewage entering their homes with the use of sandbags and shovels. Wet wipes and faeces were seen floating in the water which was then cleaned up by homeowners in a not very pleasant new year chore.

Councillor Neil Cleaver told Hailsham News: “On Sunday 1st January, the contractor Conway attended and completed a survey. The last five metres of the sewer from the last two man holes was a 150mm pitch fibre pipe, which was fitted in the 1960s. These pitch fibre pipes are the fault of the broken system with Southern Water. They are blistered and fractured so are not fit for purpose.”

“Conways has recommended to Southern Water the five metre length needs to be re-lined or, alternatively, dig up the road and remove the pipe which would require the road to be closed and would cost Southern Water more money.”

He concluded: “I have been working tirelessly on sewage and flooding problems in and around Hailsham area since I was cheap fixes!”

NEW YEAR, MORE FLOODS

In early January, more rain fell and runoff water and sewage flooded the roads and gardens in Station Road in Hellinglyresidents spent days alongside Southern Water pumping water into the nearby Cuckmere River which was already overwhelmed. One disabled homeowner in the road was left to use a temporary toilet in their garage whilst a number of others saw their gardens disappear under 18 inches of what seemed to be contaminated water. All local routes around Hellingly were under water, some never flood before. New Road and Park Road were impassable for a few days and some cars were left stranded as residents tried to access their homes at Roebuck. Many residents said it was the worse flooding they’ve ever seen in the area.

Southern Water were pumping out nearby sewer pipes and regular visits were made to the nearby pumping station in Station Road which was overpowered by the water.

In a statement, Southern Water told Hailsham News: “We know how distressing flooding can be and we are sorry our customers

“There are complex issues in Hawkswood Road in Hailsham with many agencies holding different responsibilities. The position is made worse by the very wet autumn leading to high groundwater levels and increased risk of flooding.

“We have conducted extensive investigations into the causes in this area and have discovered a pipe in poor condition. We are going to be relining this pipe in the next few weeks and will keep our customers informed about the plan.”