Storm Claudio: Waste water released in Bognor Regis as flood warnings issued across West Sussex
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Releases of varying lengths took place on bathing sites in Pagham, Aldwick, Bognor Regis East and Felpham. They come in the midst of a serious storm, which saw 43.8mm of rain in the Bognor Regis area over the last 24 hours.
Two releases taking place at outfalls in Pagham last over ten hours, while others in Bognor Regis East and Middleton-on-Sea took place over 12 and a half hours. A further outfall in Felpham also lasted twelve hours.
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Hide AdA spokesperson for Southern Water said the releases took place because the intense rain overwhelmed the combined sewer and drainage system in the area: “To protect homes, schools and businesses from flooding, storm overflows act as a release value and release excess water into the sea. These discharges are heavily diluted, typically being 95 per cent rainwater. There are around 15,000 storm overflows in England and approximately 1,000 in our region,” they said.
The Southern Water spokesperson said flood risk may be increased by the set-up of the sewer network, which is designed to flow largely unassisted, with gravity and a base level of flow ensuring all contents in the sewer make it to a pumping station or treatment works. They said: “However, this is not the case in times of dry weather so heavier materials (rags, unflushables, grit, woody debris, etc) settles and sits in the sewer. As heavy downpours hit, there will be a sudden influx of wastewater into the sewer network which flushes out the sewer and clears a lot of the debris that has been sat there, suddenly transporting it to pumping stations, inlets, etc. This can lead to blockages forming.”
The water company, which was fined £90 million for illegally releasing sewage into the sea last year, has taken steps to reduce reliance on storm overflow, and are investing £2 billion into improving waste water assets and environmental performance between 2020 and 2025.