UPDATE: Water problems in Eastbourne

Scores of homes and businesses were left without water following a burst water main in College Road.

Due to a lack of water, the nearby Devonshire Park Theatre had to cancel this afternoon’s performance of the pantomime Cinderella.

Supplies were restored by 4.30pm, according to South East Water, which supplies drinking water in the area.

Jenny Rhodes, the water board’s regional network manager, said, “We are very sorry to our customers in Eastbourne who have been without water for periods this afternoon while we repair a burst water main in College Road.

“We were alerted to a burst on the seven-inch diameter water main at 12.20pm today which resulted in us receiving 35 calls of no water.

“To restore supplies, we have re-directed water around our network of underground pipes in the town, however some customers may still be experiencing low water pressure.

“Once we complete repairs this evening, tap water supplies will return to normal.

“We know how disruptive leaks can be and unfortunately they do happen on our network, which has 9,000 miles of underground pipeline transporting 517 million litres of water a day. There are also six million joints which have to withstand high pressure 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“Inevitably sometimes these pipes and connections fail, but we work around the clock to repair them as quickly as possible. We continuously monitor our network, and between 2015 and 2020 we are investing more than £424 million to maintain and improve our infrastructure to ensure fresh tap water continues to flow to our 2.2 million customers.”