Southern Water– Bad to Worse
PAUL McLAUGHLIN
It has been yet another bad fortnight for Southern Water. After being roundly criticised (see HIP 228) over its failure to provide crucial data to an independent inquiry set up to investigate the flooding of Hastings town centre back in January, things got worse in several directions for the privatised water company.
A pollution leak into Buckshole Pond in Alexandra Park poisoned fish and caused diarrhoea in dogs; people living in Ore and Fairlight were left without running water; more raw sewage was dumped into the sea; and the car park at the old bathing pool in Bulverhythe had to be closed for public safety.
On top of these incidents came leaked slides from Southern Water proposing a 73% increase in bills over the coming years to pay for all the extra investment needed to clean up the mess.
Sick animals at Old Roar Gill
There have been a number of leaks from sewers close to Buckshole Pond in the park in recent weeks. The first leak was reported back on 14 May when residents complained of a strong toxic smell and gave vivid reports of seeing untreated sewage in the stream that runs south through Old Roar Gill and Coronation Wood Nature Reserve into Buckshole. There have been four further leaks since, caused by a “fatberg” of un-flushable material in the drains.
Myriam Lengliné, from the Sewage Contamination in Alexandra Park and Old Roar Gill Facebook group said that local people had only found out about the environmental hazard when warning signs were put up by Hastings and Bexhill Angling Association advising its members that the area was closed due to sewage leaks in the water.
Following reports of dogs falling sick after drinking the polluted water, the group paid for and put up their own signs warning of the “environmental and ecological disaster” and advising of the “serious health risks to children and animals.”
Southern Water admitted that the initial leak had resulted in the death of fish and eels. Sue Cobb, their Stakeholder Engagement Manager, issued a statement that the leaks had been “found on unmapped sewers that came into our ownership in 2011”. She said engineers were “working as quickly as we can to carry out this repair”. She insisted that the company had put up their own signs in the area to inform people of what was happening but had had to remove them after they were vandalised. She wanted to reassure residents that “this small leak has been completely contained”.
Locals were not reassured, however, highlighting the continuing strong acrid smell across parts of Alexandra Park and a build-up of algae and foam on the reservoir as evidence of a much bigger problem than Southern Water are prepared to admit. They also pointed to the continued presence of the company’s vans in the area as testament to the fact that the clean-up is still on-going. There is a growing anger that their concerns have not been fully addressed.
Ore and Fairlight without water
For those living in Ore and Fairlight, the problems with Southern Water were with the actual supply. On 15 June, residents there began reporting that discoloured water was coming from taps with a strong smell of chlorine. Southern Water identified the problem as a pump failure at the Darwell Pumping Station and Reservoir. They despatched a team of engineers to fix the problem, but not before 1,800 homes had been left completely without water.
For most residents the supply returned to normal the following morning, but others were left without water for up to five days. When the water supply was fully restored, customers were advised to run their taps for a few minutes before drinking. With the help of Hastings Borough Council, the company opened an emergency unit at the Pelham Place Car Park to distribute bottled water, later re-sited to Asda in Silverhill.
The company blamed the recent hot weather for causing a spike in demand and appealed to customers to use as little water as possible to avoid further restrictions.
More raw sewage into the sea
Perhaps it was inevitable that, within the recent heat wave, there would occur some stormy weather, and sure enough at the weekend of 17-18 June Hastings experienced an intense thunderstorm and was deluged by heavy rain. The intensity of the rain was such that sewers and sewage pipes were once again overwhelmed and Southern Water took the decision (once again) to open the sluice gates and dump raw sewage into the sea to relieve pressure on the system. Surfers against Sewage described the action as “simply staggering though not surprising”.
Old Bathing Pool, Bulverhythe
Another problem for the company emerged towards the end of last week at the site of the old bathing pool in Bulverhythe, which has led to yet more inconvenience for local people.
When the Bulverhythe main sewer split in February, Southern Water commandeered the car park by the playground for its fleet of tankers. The repair took several weeks to complete, and the car park was left in a terrible state. The extent of the damage was such that the company was forced to repair it.
Paul Barnett, the borough council leader, reported, however, that the repair was so bad that the council had been forced to close the area to the public immediately. He said: “It looks as if Southern Water have scooped up shingle from the beach and dumped it on the worn-out surface, so cars can’t safely use it.”
…and yet, bills to increase by 73% ?
Despite this catalogue of failure, Southern Water has indicated an intention to increase bills by 73%, meaning an average household bill would rise to £759 per year. Unlike its plans to invest an extra £50m in the next two years to reduce storm overflows and its commitment to reduce sewage spills by 25% before 2030 and by 75% by 2050, which were widely trailed on television and in the national media, the proposed increases in bills were leaked to the Press Association. Southern Water insisted that the leaked slides set out various options for future billings and were not final proposals.
A company spokesperson said Southern Water was set to increase household bills in line with inflation for the 2023-24 period. This means dual service customers can expect an increase of 9.4% on their charges, with an average annual bill rising from £401 to £439, while water-only bills would go up by 9% and waste-only by 9.7%.
For many local people, the shoddy car park repair encapsulates Southern Water’s whole approach to its business dealings – namely, one short-term fix after another.
Sitting Conservative MP for Hastings and Rye, Sally Ann Hart, said there was an urgent need for even greater investment to improve water infrastructure. She insisted that the Government has a fully costed plan to eradicate sewage discharges into rivers and the sea, and that this plan includes the “strictest targets” to deliver the largest infrastructure programme in water company history. In the meantime she “strongly opposed” Southern Water’s leaked plans for a 73% increase in bills, saying “people want clean water but do not want to be crippled by bills.”
Helena Dollimore, Labour’s prospective parliamentary candidate in opposition, said: “It’s one failure after another. From sewage to flooding to the taps running dry – all while we pay more and Southern Water makes eye-watering profits. It’s time they got their act together and invested properly in our water infrastructure. With the climate emergency upon us, the time to fix infrastructure and protect our water is now. A Labour Government would get tough on the water companies and legislate to end the sewage scandal.”
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