Kicking up a stink over sewage system

The petition with 353 signatures from those who live on the Elmer Sands estate was presented to Arun District Council chairman Don Ayling. It will be discussed by the council's performance scrutiny committee on July 28.

The petition was handed in by campaigners Geoff Matcham and Linda Smith.

Mr Matcham said the petition called upon the council to get a commitment from Southern Water to stop sewers on the Elmer Sands estate from frequently overflowing.

"We would urge Arun to challenge Southern Water's decision not to embark on the essential upgrading of the Elmer Sands sewage infrastructure, with no prospect of a review until the year 2020," he said.

He pointed out the problems with the inadequate sewers could cause environmental health problems for those homeowners whose properties were damaged by the excess effluent.

The situation could also affect the tourism industry in the wider Bognor Regis area by threatening its Blue Flag status because some of the raw sewage flowed into the sea.

The residents claim the problem is caused by an inadequate and outdated sewage pumping station on The Hard on their estate.

A Southern Water spokeswoman said it was well aware of the residents' concerns.

"We are currently attending regular joint flooding meetings with Arun District Council, the Environment Agency and West Sussex County Council to devise a surface management plan which will tackle the issue in a strategic way.

"We feel this issue requires a joint approach from all agencies involved, which have different areas of responsibility for managing flooding issues," she stated.

"With regard to Elmer Sands, it is a low-lying development which is subject to a number of geographical influences including high-ground water levels and the tide-locking of the surface water drainage system.

"Southern Water has very little responsibility for surface water drainage in the area, but is of course aware of the impact that this has on the foul sewer network, which is the company's responsibility."

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