Sewer sealing scheme starts in West Sussex village

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Southern Water teams are working to seal sewers in the village of Funtington in West Sussex, expanding the work we're doing in West Sussex to protect communities.

Southern Water is continuing its major programme of works to protect homes from flooding and protect our network from the impacts of groundwater entering sewers.

Funtington, west of Chichester, will take centre stage for works to seal sewers to help keep out groundwater, this will also help reduce storm overflows in the area helping protect Chichester Harbour. It comes as the company is close to completing our work to seal sewers in East Dean, with more than a kilometre worth of sewers being sealed since July.   Both East Dean and Funtington are impacted by groundwater levels. Over the last two years, this issue has become even more acute as the impacts of the wettest 18 months since records began has led to more groundwater getting into sewers.

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It is hoped, that through extensive sealing of sewers in this area that the area will be better prepared during periods of rising groundwaters and it means there could be less reliance on tankers and other measures.   If the pipes are sealed, and less groundwater is getting in it means our treatment works are under less pressure. This could help reduce storm overflows and help the health of nearby watercourses that feed into Chichester Harbour.   This technique has been trialled elsewhere and proven successful, for instance in the pan parishes area of Hampshire near Andover, sealing private and public pipes reduced the number of tankers being used by more than 85 per cent.

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Groundwater is water stored beneath the ground, seeping into soil and rock after rainfall. Some of it sinks deep into the ground and becomes part of the water table, stored in rock or sediment called an aquifer. While groundwater is essential for feeding natural water sources like chalk streams, it can cause issues when it enters the sewer network.

Most sewers are built to handle wastewater, so excess groundwater can overwhelm the system, reducing capacity and putting the network under pressure. In the worst-case scenario, we use tankers to remove excess water from the sewers and treat it at our sites, and, with approval from the Environment Agency, we may also pump water from the sewers into the environment. This helps relieve pressure on the network and reduces the risk of foul sewer flooding, but it's only a temporary solution.

Joff Edevane from Southern Water's Clean Rivers and Seas Task Force, said: “We’re delighted to start work on sealing sewers in Funtington, our programme of work in West Sussex is continuing at pace and we know that it will make a real difference in tackling the issues caused by groundwater. “By doing this work we can help protect our network and customer’s homes for when heavy rainfall and groundwater issues arise over the coming months.”   “Customers in this area will notice an increase of activity over the coming weeks and we’re sorry for the disruption these works will cause.”

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