Southern Water sees fifteen-fold reduction in sewer flooding

Southern Water has achieved a fifteen-fold reduction in the number of sewer flooding incidents in the past year, following a multi-million pound investment programme.

New figures from the company reveal the number of sewer flooding events fell from 30 over the winter of 2014/15 down to just two during the winter of 2014/15, as a result of a £12 million investment programme.

Under the programme Southern Water set about surveying and sealing its sewers to prevent groundwater infiltration during periods of heavy rainfall, and this work is set to continue this year.

The result has been that only 2 out of 60 locations vulnerable to groundwater infiltration required tankers to ferry the wastewater from the inundated sewers last winter, with only one of these requiring an over pump, which remove the wastewater 25 times quicker than a tanker.

This is down from 30 of the vulnerable locations being attended to by tankers, with 24 of these also requiring the use of an overpump.

Southern Water’s director of operations Phil Barker said: “We have been working hard and innovatively throughout all the seasons to improve the performance of our sewer network in locations where it has been vulnerable. This has resulted in a much improved performance.”

The improvement has come despite 2012 being the wettest year in England since records began, the winter of 2013/14 being the wettest in the UK, and last winter (2014/15) being 25 per cent wetter than average.

Barker added: “Naturally, we are hoping for a drier than usual winter during 2015/16, but if the elements conspire against us for the fourth consecutive year we’re confident that our ongoing investment in the sewer system will again stand us – and our customers – in good stead.”