Pipe leaks during hosepipe ban ‘outrageous’, says Lewes MP, as South East Water works to fix issues
The MP for Lewes has criticised South East Water following reports of leaks across East Sussex as a hosepipe ban is introduced.
South East Water’s temporary restrictions on using hosepipes came into force at 12.01am on Saturday, July 25, for its supply areas in Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire.
But James MacCleary said on his MP Facebook profile on Tuesday, August 4, that he and his team have reported leaks in Alfriston, Lewes, Newhaven, Seaford, Polegate and other locations ‘in recent weeks’.
He said: “Some have been minor, but others have seen huge amounts of water pouring away unnecessarily.
“It is outrageous that South East Water has allowed so many leaks to persist while imposing a hosepipe ban and warning of drought conditions. At the same time, residents are receiving water bills costing hundreds of pounds.”
In response, South East Water has said it is ‘working tirelessly’ to reduce leaks across its network.
Mr MacCleary confirmed in his post that ‘several of the worst leaks’ have been repaired and said his team is receiving regular updates from South East Water on the reports they have submitted.
This newspaper reported that for two days from July 22 residents in Heathfield, Cross in Hand and surrounding villages experienced interrupted water supplies, including very low pressure and no water. On July 22 South East Water confirmed there was a burst water main on Park Croft, Polegate. This leak was repaired on July 23.
Mr MacCleary said: “When Parliament returns, I’ll be meeting South East Water’s new CEO to make it clear that this situation is unacceptable. Residents deserve a reliable water supply and a company that invests in its infrastructure before asking customers to make sacrifices. In the meantime, please keep sending my team reports of leaks. If you can include the exact location (or even a What3Words reference or photo), it makes it much easier for us to get them logged and chased up.”
A South East Water spokesperson said: “We share our customers’ frustrations at seeing drinking water lost to leaks, especially with our Temporary Use Ban in place, but please be assured that we are working tirelessly to reduce leakage across our network.
“We are prioritising fixing these leaks as quickly as we can and have brought in additional repair teams to assist. Once our technician has reviewed a reported leak and confirmed a repair is needed, the typical duration for completing a repair has been reduced to one week from the two-week average recorded during the same period last year.
“In July, we raised 2,783 jobs to repair leaks – up by 68 per cent compared to May, when we recorded 1,651.
“A range of factors come into planning a repair which can impact how long a leak takes to be fixed after it’s been reported. These include the location of the leak, the traffic management required, environmental considerations, other nearby utilities and the risk of customers going without water supply. Clearly if there is an emergency leak or burst affecting drinking water supplies, these are prioritised.”
South East Water said prolonged dry weather can ‘significantly affect’ the underground pipe network. The spokesperson said: “As the dry spells drain moisture from the earth, clay soils shrink and contract. This ground movement exerts extreme pressure on underground pipes, causing them to crack. As a result of the dry earth, there will be more movement underground, leading to an increase in invisible leaks and sudden bursts across the network.”
The company said it spend about £63 million a year on finding and fixing leaks and is investing further to reduce the amount of water lost to leaks by half by 2050. In the past year South East Water found and fixed more than 21,000 leaks on its network, which is roughly a 10 per cent increase on the previous year.
The spokesperson said: “We have more staff than ever finding and fixing leaks. In total, we have 400 people working on repairing leaks when they are reported, with a further 116 technicians searching for and finding leaks proactively.
“We’d like to thank everyone who takes the time to report leaks to us - it really does help us to find and fix problems on our network.”
People can report leaks at aqualerter.southeastwater.co.uk.