'Honestly, this isn’t good enough': low water pressure in part of Eastbourne as South East Water carries out adjustments to network
South East Water (SEW) reported low water pressure in part of Eastbourne as the company carried out adjustments to its network on Saturday, January 10.
On Saturday, SEW said the issue was affecting postcode BN23 8HL.
In a 1.22pm update, the water company said: “We apologise to customers who are currently without water or experiencing low pressure. Our dedicated teams are working hard to resolve this issue as quickly as possible by carrying out adjustments to the network. For automatic updates on the situation, please sign up for SMS text messages using the form provided on this page.”
On Sunday, January 11, at 8.22am, a new update said: “Eastbourne and the surrounding areas may experience intermittent supply or low pressure today as the reservoir recovers its storage levels.”
Eastbourne MP Josh Babarinde OBE said on Facebook on Sunday (10am): “This weekend a big chunk of Langney and Sovereign Harbour have been affected by low/no water pressure, which have caused serious issues for many residents.”
He said South East Water had told him that Storm Goretti had affected their ability to treat raw water at a normal rate. He also said he was told about an ‘outbreak of burst water mains’ on the South East Water network due to the ‘freeze/thaw conditions’.
The MP continued: “Honestly, this isn’t good enough – and the provision of information has been poor.”
He said: “I’ve urged South East Water to get a grip of this situation and outline exactly when they expect to get the water supply back to normal.
“In the meantime, I’ve urged them to set up a bottled water station in Langney/Sovereign area so local people don’t go without. In emergency situations like this, you can ask to be on the Priority Services Register, where you can request water deliveries to your home if you’re not able to go out and get some (e.g. due to mobility issues).”
He said people can ask to join the PSR via a link in his comments.
A South East Water update at 3.44pm said: “We are sorry that customers in the Eastbourne and the surrounding areas have had intermittent supply today
“Our teams have managed to make alterations to the network and we are pleased to report that supplies should be returning over the next few hours. However those on higher ground will take longer and likely not to have their supplies returned until later tonight ,If you would like further updates via SMS text message please use the form on this page and automatic updates will be sent to you.”