Water released to bathing spots in Littlehampton and Shoreham after heavy rain

Two releases were recorded at Littlehampton beach following yesterday’s storms, according to Southern Water’s ‘Rivers and Seas’ tracker, which provides real-time updates on waste water releases across the south coast. The first, an ‘impacting release’ which might potentially affect the bathing area itself, took place for seven minutes, from 2.36pm, to 2.43pm.

The second release, which Southern Water has designated a ‘non impacting’ release, took place for an hour; between 8.45pm and 9.45pm.

A further impacting release took place at Shoreham Beach, from 4.38pm to 5.22pm.

Water releases at Southern Water are based on the impact model, which classifies releases based on how likely they are to effect bathing spots used by the public and evaluated by the Environment Agency as either ‘impacting’ or ‘non-impacting’.

Yesterday’s releases came after heavy rainfall and thunderstorms across West Sussex. The sudden influx of water overwhelms treatment centres, sewage works and pumping stations, and triggering release valves at outfall stations across the coast in order to prevent flooding in residential, industrial and retail centres.

Responding to a request for comment, a spokesperson for Southern Water said: “We share the public’s desire for cleaner rivers and seas, and that’s why we’re investing heavily and working hard to play our part in protecting and enhancing water quality – driven by a £1.5 billion Clean Rivers and Seas Plan, designed to dramatically reduce storm overflows. “We agree with our customers that this historic network of pressure release valves, designed to release flows into the environment instead of flooding homes and communities, is outdated and unacceptable. We’re tackling this by rolling out a range of engineering and nature-based solutions to stop surface and groundwater from overloading our network.”