Flushing to protect drinking water quality in the Hassocks area - is your road affected?

Anyone affected by the work will be notified by letter. The work involves pumping water through pipes at high speed to flush out naturally-occurring sediments which build up over time, such as iron or manganese.

Despite not being harmful, they can cause water to appear discoloured.

Jenny Rhodes, regional network manager at South East Water, said: “The fresh drinking water entering our mains after treatment is extremely high quality. However, over time, deposits can build up in the pipes, particularly if the water is slow moving.

“Our team of scientists and engineers use information gathered from our customers, from water samples and historical data to develop a programme to ensure we flush the areas that need it most.

“We appreciate customers may have concerns about the water used during the process appearing to run to waste, but we only draw through our pipes as much as we need, and once the water reaches its journey’s end, it is directed into the drains to be recycled.”

During the work it is possible customers may notice a reduction in water pressure, and some discolouration, but this is temporary and can be solved by running the kitchen tap until the water runs clear.

Jenny added: “To help minimise the risk of any disruption, we usually avoid flushing between 6am and 8am, and 5pm and 10pm, when demand is highest.

“Customers will receive advance notice if we are going to be working in their area, and we do encourage anyone with a medical condition which could be impacted by an interruption to their water supply to sign up to our Priority Services Register at southeastwater.co.uk/help.”

The work will start on Monday, March 9.

Roads affected are:

Ashford Road

Bodsham Crescent

Button Lane

Cavendish Way

Copsewood Way

Gault Close

Greensands Road

Greystones Road

Ragstone Road

Romney Close

Rosemary Road

Shirley Way

Smallhythe Close

Spot Lane

Tasker Close

Willington Street

Yeoman Park

Yeoman Way

Further details about the flushing can be found at: corporate.southeastwater.co.uk/flushing