Southern Water is continuing to work in close partnership with the Environment Agency and Hastings Borough Council in a project to improve bathing water quality in the town.
The three organisations are working together to address a range of factors which affect water quality, in an attempt to help Hastings meet tough new European standards for bathing water.
The standards are set to become twice as stringent and come into force in 2015. The seawater at Hastings is in danger of failing to meet them. If the water fails to meet the new standard it will be classified as “poor” and people will be advised not to swim in the sea.
Southern Water has invested millions of pounds in recent years to improve the bathing water quality in Hastings and will continue to do so in the coming year. The company is helping the council identify illegal connections of wastewater pipes from homes into the surface water system, as they are a potential cause of contamination.
Southern Water’s contractor MWH will soon be carrying out further investigations to identify areas where wrong connections are occurring. The data is then being passed to engineers working for Hastings Borough Council and the Environment Agency so they can pinpoint individual houses that may have been wrongly plumbed. Owners of properties where wrong connections are found will be notified about the problem and be asked to put the plumbing right.
At the same time, Southern Water is identifying manholes which are shared by wastewater and surface water pipes and upgrading them as these can be a source of contamination during heavy rain.
Meanwhile, the council is also looking at reducing pollution from roads and run-off from land from entering the surface water system at the Alexandra Park stream.
Antigone Papaefstathiou, Southern Water Project Manager, said:
“We are committed to helping the Environment Agency and Hastings Borough Council with their efforts to improve the town’s bathing water. This year we will spend more than £3 million on surveys and improvements, with a further £7 million planned to be invested over the next three years.”
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