Chichester council calls on Ofwat to hold Southern Water to account over wastewater failings

At a full council meeting in November, it was agreed leader Eileen Lintill and chief executive Diane Shepherd would send a joint letter to Rachel Fletcher, Ofwat chief executive, due to concerns that the water company did not have the capacity to connect new homes to the foul sewer network.

Chichester Harbour Conservancy tracks storm discharges, using information supplied by Southern Water, and the statistics it provided showed ‘unacceptably high levels of storm discharges’ from the three wastewater treatment works that discharge into the Harbour.

The letter highlights the council’s ‘serious concerns’ and asks Ofwat to intervene.

The concerns fall broadly into three categories – the capacity of the network now and how additional capacity will be provided to meet the needs of the increased housing the council is required to provide in the Local Plan; Southern Water’s assurances that proposed dwellings can be connected to the public sewerage system, without sufficient assurance that this takes account of the cumulative effect; and rising sea levels.

The letter states: “Our third concern is in the medium term, but it is if anything even more serious. Much of our wastewater treatment structure consists of historic works that depend on sending their effluent into the sea, so they sit near the shore.

“Years ago that was acceptable, but now we can clearly foresee how, even when efficient, they are vulnerable to rising sea levels. There is now a clear risk that in 50 years they will no longer serve. We have a responsibility to our residents to look ahead and prepare for this, including ensuring that infrastructure can be provided for the lifetime of development proposals, but we do not have the power.

“We are dependent on SW. Although SW recognise climate change and sea level rises as risks in a technical appendix to their five-year Business Plan, there is at this stage little clear evidence of an awareness of their need to plan long-term to relocate and uprate all five of these treatment works (Apuldram, Bosham, Pagham, Sidlesham and Thornham) to sites not at risk of inundation due to sea level rises fully expected to result from climate change.

“It is essential that longer term planning, such as through Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans, fully addresses these issues.”

The letter concludes by stating that Southern Water had been deficient for years and none of its ‘fine intentions’ were evident in the council’s dealings with the company as an ‘external stakeholder’.

It calls on Ofwat to exercise its statutory duty to hold Southern Water to account, and to start by addressing, as a matter of urgency, the three areas of the council’s main concerns.

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Following a meeting with Chichester MP Gillian Keegan earlier this month, Southern Water chief executive Ian McAulay said: “Partnership working is the best and most effective way to ensure a resilient water future for the people of Chichester and the wider region.

“Delivering water resilience in a climate crisis and across the multiple environments water exists in, demands that many parties and stakeholders have to work more closely together than ever before.

“Having proactive and constructive partners such as Gillian Keegan ensures that we hear and understand the priorities of residents and stakeholders and in turn they hear and understand those of a water utility.

“Together we can then take the most effective action. We therefore look forward to widening and deepening our co-operation with Gillian Keegan and all the stakeholders in the Chichester area.”