Rain storms in Sussex: Southern Water systems to protect homes from flooding

However the company said it is likely its permitted storm overflow systems will operate to protect homes from flooding.

During heavy rain, local sewer networks can struggle to cope with the amount of water entering pipes and storage tanks, Southern Water said.

But when they fill up, storm overflows release the excess water through outfalls into rivers and the sea.

A Southern Water spokesperson said: “We are investing and taking action to reduce the use of storm overflows and lead the way towards creating healthier rivers and seas.

“We have committed to investing £2 billion over five years to improve our performance. This will help us to reduce 80 per cent of our pollution incidents by 2025 and significantly reduce storm overflows by 2030 by improving our wastewater assets and environmental performance.”

Storm overflows are regulated and permitted by the Environment Agency.

Southern Water explained that while the releases from its network do comprise some water that is not fully treated, discharges are ‘heavily diluted’ and made up of 95 per cent or more rainwater.

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Southern Water added: “Every day we treat nearly 1,400 million litres of wastewater to some of the highest regulatory standards in the world.

“95 per cent of all wastewater is returned to the environment safely, maintaining river levels and providing a stable ecological environment for aquatic life. 5 per cent is released, usually during heavy or prolonged rainfall and is diluted storm water. We are working hard to reduce that figure.”