Southern Water has been carrying out network surveys in seven areas as part of a major scheme to bring bathing water quality up to the "excellent" rating by 2020.
Middleton-on-Sea, Worthing and Selsey in Sussex, Deal, Leysdown and Minster Leas in Kent and Shanklin on the Isle of Wight are the coastal areas selected for a range of improvements as part of the water company’s innovative £31.5 million Bathing Water Enhancement Programme, the first of its kind in the UK.
To select the seven, Southern Water undertook a rigorous selection process to shortlist 21 bathing waters from the 83 in its region for further investigation.
The water company then spent a year carrying out a range of detailed investigations including watercourse sampling, DNA analysis and CCTV surveys of sewers to understand the causes of pollution at each of the shortlisted bathing waters.
It has also separately identified the potential for a second stage of work at six of the 14 bathing waters which were not selected. The six have a possibility of attaining the Excellent standard if some interventions are pursued.
As part of the scheme, Southern Water has been speaking to thousands of customers to help trace property misconnections – where wastewater pipes are incorrectly plumbed into surface water drains.
The misconnections mean that wastewater from toilets, kitchens and bathrooms is pumped out to sea before it’s treated, affecting the quality of bathing water at local beaches.
The utility is also working closely with local authorities on tackling misconnections and other issues - such as dog waste on the beach - which are currently preventing its bathing water reaching the highest standard.
Southern Water Programme Manager Brian Rousell said:
“The South East’s bathing waters are already among the cleanest in the UK, but our customers have asked us to do more to help them get even better.
“We’re working in seven areas to help them reach the highest rating of ‘excellent’ by 2020 and stay there. This means bathing water will be cleaner than ever, which is good news for local people and the environment.”
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