A new plan by Southern Water to keep surface water out of its sewers is providing extra support to a Sussex village with a history of flooding problems.

Villagers in Hellingly have experienced repeat instances of basement flooding, linked to the geography of the area and population growth in the village.

In the past, the water company teams helped by fitting flood prevention devices to those properties most affected. The one-way valves effectively forced wastewater into the sewers when volumes were increasing, and prevented it returning into homes and businesses.

However, this approach proved insufficient when torrential rain in January 2023 caused the River Cuckmere to burst its banks and flood more areas.

This event led to the creation of a £4.3 million project for Hellingly, as well as Sussex villages Shripney and Sayers Common, and Marden in Kent – all of which were facing similar flooding challenges.

In Hellingly, £1.2 million has been spent on:

Sealing up to 2km of sewer pipes, and their manholes, to reduce groundwater from squeezing its way in and overloading the network

Investigating the impact of new developments on the network.

Fresh surveys are now underway at the 70 most vulnerable properties in the village, to see if Southern Water can completely disconnect surface water drains from sewers at these locations.

Samuel Jenkins, project manager explained:

“So far, sealing sewers and manholes has been successful in reducing groundwater forcing its way into our pipes and overloading the network – but we now need to go further.

“Right now, surface water, during and after rainfall, hits our roads and roofs and then goes into our sewers and heads to our treatment works. When levels are high, that is usually the key cause of storm water releases – but in places like Hellingly, it also increases the risk of sewers backing up and flooding gardens and even homes.

“That’s why we are looking at ways we can keeping that surface water out of the system, at problem hotspots in the village.”