St Leonards flood: 'High levels' of faecal pollution found in water following sewage leak, environmental group says

Hastings and St Leonards Clean Water Action Group said the high levels of faecal bacteria were discovered in several sites after the group sent off samples for testing.

The sewage leak happened on February 3 in Bulverhythe Road.

The group has written to Lawrence Godsen, the CEO of Southern Water, as well as the company’s director of quality and environment, Toby Willison.

In the open letter, which was sent to the Observer, the group said: “Last week Clean Water Action began taking water samples at two sites, twice weekly, and sending them to Envirochem Labs in Farnham to be tested for E-coli, streptococci (faecal bacteria) and total coliforms.

"Our first results are extremely worrying: at Cinque Ports Way they register 150cfu/100ml of faecal pollution. Slightly further west along Bulverhythe Beach, closer to this most recent burst, they measure an alarming 650cfu/100ml of faecal pollution. The Environment Agency (EA) rating for presence of faecal bacteria is 150cfu/100ml for ‘sufficient’, so 650cfu is highly polluted.

“This is the same Victorian pipework that burst on July 29, 2021 causing extensive damage to nearby beach huts and spilling sewage into the sea.

“The monitoring of water safety and the maintenance of the system in this area is currently wholly insufficient. After years of neglect, the recent news that our water bills will rise by 9.4 per cent in April has angered many in our group; understandably so as our homes and businesses are being flooded, our roads, beaches and town centre closed and our bathing waters polluted.”

Almost 20 homes were affected by this month’s incident. A pavement also collapsed and engineers from Southern Water then closed off the road and footpaths. Skinners Sheds, which has several warehouses in Bexhill Road, said its premises were flooded with sewage and mud, leaving the firm unable to operate.

Following the incident, a Southern Water spokesperson said 50 tankers were used to transport wastewater for treatment. Using these tankers meant customers could use their facilities as normal, the company added.

Southern Water said during the repair works it relined a long section of pipe to reduce the chances of a future burst nearby.

The Southern Water spokesperson said: “Both Toby Willison and Lawrence Gosden have received this letter from the Hastings and St Leonards Clean Water Action Group outlining their findings and concerns. “We will be responding to this letter over the coming days.”