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When Southern Water contacted me on local elections day about a burst water mains pipe affecting thousands of properties and businesses in Hastings, St Leonards and some of our surrounding villages just before May Day Bank Holiday weekend, my heart sank. This could not have happened at a worse time, over the Jack in the Green May bank holiday weekend which attracts thousands of visitors and bikers.
The impact on residents, with thousands of homes without water, was bad enough, and having been reassured by SW that the Conquest, St Michael’s Hospice, GP surgeries and our local care homes would be prioritised for water supply and that bottled water would be delivered to vulnerable customers on the Priority Services Register, my thoughts turned to our local tourism and hospitality businesses. May Day weekend, fuelled by the spectacular Jack in the Green events, should have provided our tourism and hospitality businesses a much-needed revenue boost following a particularly challenging and long winter and spring. So, I literally pleaded with Southern Water to find and fix the leak and re-instate mains water supply before the weekend was out.
I was on the phone to the Environment Secretary, Steve Barclay, at 6.30 on the Friday morning who offered to do whatever he could to help and provide SW with UK Government support. It was all go, with virtual meetings and telephone calls throughout that first day and during the weekend with SW, the NHS, East Sussex County Council and Sussex Resilience Forum to ensure that immediate action was taken by SW to find and fix the leak, and that plans were in place to supply water to vulnerable people and establish water stations. Whilst efforts were made by the authorities to ensure robust data was shared as regards the 6,100 vulnerable people, my office had people contact us over the weekend because they had not had water delivered, and we were able to help them.
I asked SW to better communicate with residents and for more and smaller water stations, including in the affected villages, to ease the congestion in the town. Water stations require resources and personnel and I thank Sussex Resilience Forum for helping SW deliver these. Whilst my request for smaller stations was unsuccessful, several constituents contacted me reporting that they felt better served and informed than in similar previous incidents.
The leak was found, and the section of pipe replaced very quickly thanks to the tree-chopping skills, determination, and round-the-clock hard work of SW employees. The slow process of refilling and re-pressurising the system started and by Sunday evening many homes and businesses were back on mains supply. However, around 2,500 homes and several businesses were without water or had low pressure for a prolonged number of days.
Water supply and infrastructure management are operational matters for SW which should have contingency plans in place. It is clear that challenges relating to its infrastructure, resources and communication remain.
Several constituents contacted me about a planning application made by SW in 2007 to replace the 12km section of ‘outworn’ raw water pipe from Darwell Reservoir to Beauport Water Supply Works. I am grateful to them for highlighting this with me, and I was able to draw this to the attention of Defra minister, Robbie Moore, and the CEO of Southern Water in my post-leak meetings with them.
I have secured a commitment from SW to replace the outworn 12km pipe with a dual system as a priority. A new planning application, landowner consents and environment impact reports amongst other planning requirements will need to be secured, and as we know, this will all take some time. But time for action is now, to prevent more money being wasted, and SW will need help to do this. Cllr. Keith Glazier, leader of East Sussex County Council, and I have committed, as your elected representatives, to support SW’s mission to replace the mains pipe, including dealings with government, Ofwat and local authorities.
Finally, having advocated for fair treatment and appropriate compensation, I have secured confirmation from SW that it will go beyond regulatory and statutory obligations in compensating businesses affected on a ‘goodwill basis’ and will ‘explore all options for residents’.