Residents in Rother and Wealden are set to benefit from an £18 million investment by South East Water to improve their drinking water supply network in East Sussex.
Several projects in the area, along with additional future schemes, will result in enhanced network resilience and better water quality.
One of the projects, to improve water quality in the Heathfield to Rushlake Green area, started this week.
Project manager, Jeremy Dufour, said:
“We know our water supply in the area is not the standard we want for our customers and discolouration has been a common issue. To help improve this, we will be replacing approximately 6.5 kilometres of old water main along Battle Road.”
A second scheme, a new 17-kilometre pipeline connecting treated drinking water storage tanks in Wadhurst and Rotherfield with the company’s treatment works at Bewl Water, is underway and is expected to take around 18 months.
Matthew Cooper, project manager for this scheme, said:
“Our Bewl to Rotherfield project is vital for providing us with greater flexibility to move water around our network. It also means that we will be preventing the transfer of a non-native invasive species between the reservoirs at Bewl and Darwell and a nearby treatment works.
“Installing this new pipeline, coupled with upgrades to both our Bewl treatment works and Wadhurst storage reservoir, means that the water network in the Wealden area will be greatly improved, providing increased resilience: a key objective for the company to improve our service to customers.”
Wealden District Councillor, Greg Collins, commented:
“These are essential works, on quite a scale. I’ve attended a number of meetings at which South East Water have presented the scheme and heard councillors’ and residents’ concerns, and have taken them seriously. They’ve engaged with local communities, understand the issues, and I believe are committed to doing everything they are able to keep the disruption and inconvenience to a minimum.”
Future projects for the area include laying 1.6 kilometres of new pipeline between Flimwell and Bedgebury.
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