Southern Water has apologised to local residents and road users who have been impacted by a burst wastewater main running under West Way in Lancing.
The water company is currently in the process of undertaking a re-lining scheme for the main, providing a new continuous, reliable pipe by the end of September.
A statement issued by Southern Water said that evidence on the ground indicated that the flooding was minimal, with no internal or external impact to properties. The utility has been working to make a temporary repair until the permanent pipe lining works are complete in the next few weeks.
“We completely understand the distress felt by the residents who are yet again affected by flooding in their road. This is particularly frustrating as we are just weeks away from undertaking a re-lining scheme, providing a new continuous, reliable pipe by the end of September,” the statement says.
According to the dedicated update page on the scheme’s progress, the existing pipe is "really fragile" and doing any work near it might cause it to burst. The company has had 10 tankers on standby to minimise the damage if it bursts.
The utility has explained that it is in regular contact with customers in the area to update them on the progress of the Lancing pipe re-lining scheme, with a team on site daily in case of issues. This meant the burst was spotted immediately, Southern Water said, and was therefore able to minimise the impact on nearby homes.
The water company’s priority has been stopping the spill by using tankers to take on the flow of wastewater – meaning that many nearby homes can continue to use their kitchens and bathrooms as normal. Once they are in place the pumping stations serving the pipe can be switched off.
The company expects to begin the lining works at the end of September – the flexible lining, which is being supplied from Germany, consists of glass reinforced fibre pipe or polyethylene which is resistant to the chemicals found in sewers and saline corrosion from the tide.. This process uses UV light to cure the pipe rather than chemicals.
The scheme’s update page has published responses to a number of questions asked at a public meeting on 3 August. The response to the question “ You must have spent thousands on tankers and fixing the bursts over the years why didn’t you replace it 5 years ago?” states:
“We have new investors at Southern Water who want customers to have a reliable network and for the business to thrive. They are giving us the money to invest in this area, and the whole Region, in a way that we haven’t been able to do previously.”
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