Southern Water plans Eastbourne outfall pipe upgrades after 2030
On their ‘Clean Rivers and Seas Plan’ interactive map, Southern Water stated that planned upgrades to Eastbourne's long-distance outfall pipe, known as 'Eastbourne Wastewater Treatment Works 1,' will not begin until after 2030.
Eastbourne's three ‘overflow’ outfall pipes, two close to shore and one half a mile out, are currently stated to be meeting government targets, according to Southern Water's 'Clean Rivers and Seas Plan' interactive map.
However, the long-distance ‘outfall pipe', roughly two and a half miles out to sea, used for treated sewage but also handles 'combined sewer overflow' (CSO), also known as ‘combined storm overflow’, must reduce its discharge frequency in the future.
Southern Water showed on their map that this long-distance outfall pipe "spills" into the English Channel on average 65 times a year, and according to the Rivers Trust ‘Sewage Map’, in 2023, "for a total of 741.49 hours.”
Southern state £21.36 million as the Eastbourne outfall pipe improvements cost. Water UK’s interactive map says there is a need for increased storage capacity and improvements to treatment processes.
The company says these improvements are still in the early planning stages, depending on regulatory approval and are scheduled between 2031-2050 to meet 2050 government-set targets for reducing spills
CSO releases can occur when heavy rainfall overwhelms the sewage system flow, so facilities can't treat it quickly enough, leading to water-sewage combinations getting discharged through screens directly into the seas and rivers to prevent backflow up the pipes and into our streets, workplaces and homes.
The previous government's September 2023 updated Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan (next update to be reviewed in December 2024) requires water companies to reduce these discharges to no more than an average of ten spills annually for each overflow pipe (in exceptional rainfall only) by 2050.
Water companies are taking incremental steps to fulfil the Environment Act 2021 binding 25-year-plus plans. Southern feels confident they will "not only meet Government targets but that we'll likely exceed them."
Environment Agency (EA) did rate Eastbourne's seawater quality as "good" last year, showing some hope after a “sufficient” in 2022.
Recent Citizen Science tests by Julie Honess from the local Sea Swimmers group, a part of Southern Water’s Clean Rivers and Seas Task Force set up to help monitor and improve sea quality levels, also reported no significant dangerous E. coli levels near the Cambridge Road beach currently this year.
According to Water UK, currently, Eastbourne is 75% towards meeting future annual spill targets, with this long-distance pipe being a main part of the issue.
Southern Water has ruled out more extensive widespread infrastructure upgrades, such as increased separation of rainwater from sewage or significantly expanding storage facilities.
They cite a 2022 government press release entitled ‘Largest overhaul of sewer system to tackle storm sewage discharges’, saying that separating the entire UK combined system would cost up to £600 billion and the storage tanks £240 billion.
Instead, they seek to develop more Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDs) designed to manage heavy rainfall water by trying to absorb it (using, for example, water butts and new innovative methods) before it reaches the sewage network and improving existing infrastructure.
As the government prepares to review an updated version of the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan in December, all involved wait to see if new targets and plans emerge.