POLLUTED WATER AT GARAGE

A LARGE BP service station on the A27 between Lewes and Falmer has been closed amid fears a leaking diesel tank might have polluted the underground water table.

Local resident Charles Keen told the Express: 'Some time ago, the BP garage found that it was losing diesel from one of its tanks that had a leak in it.

'They closed the petrol station for a planned two weeks while they brought in a firm to re-line the tank, working from inside, but the work has run on.

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'Three bore holes have been sunk into the water table around the garage to monitor the pollution.

'This is a very sensitive area; there are two water bore holes there where Southern Water pump water straight into the mains supply, supplying a large portion of the water that is used in the area.

'Testing in the bore holes started at one test every month but they soon found out that the pollution carried on, so testing was changed to daily sampling.

'The staff were given seven days notice and the garage closed.

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'We wonder how much pollution to the water supply is acceptable to Southern Water.'

A spokesman for the Environment Agency said an investigation into the contamination of the aquifer was continuing.

And she added: 'We have found that groundwater, underneath the BP station, has been impacted by petrol-type contaminants.

'The source of the pollution has not yet been identified.

'The site lies between two abstraction boreholes that supply water to the general area. We are working with Southern Water to ensure that the contamination does not cause a threat to public drinking water.'

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Southern Water said: 'We are working to ensure that the contamination does not cause a threat to public drinking water from our water sources there, which is why, as soon as we were informed of the incident, we immediately began implementing contingency plans and commissioning a new treatment process to enable us to continue operating this source.'

BP in a statement on Wednesday said: 'We are pro-actively working on the investigation.

'As this is an ongoing investigation, we are unable to comment further at this stage.

'However, as a precaution, we have closed the service station and removed all fuel products from the site and are monitoring the pollution levels on a regular basis.'