Southwick: Southern Water apologises as streets filled with sewage

People living in Southwick say their properties are affected by sewage from an “overwhelmed” system as tankers fill roads to tackle the issue.

They are now calling for Southern Water to invest in their community to fix the problem.

Robert Jones, who lives in Southwick, said: “Southern Water dither and dither – then they put pumps and tankers in to clear it.

Sewage in the streets of Southwick (Image: Robert Jones)

“They say it’s rainwater from the sewers, it might be quite clean sewage but it’s still sewage.

“It’s largely ineffective. We don’t believe a word that Southern Water are saying.”

Robert added that the issues come from a spring under the A270 which fills with water whenever it rains.

As the spring fills, the water spills into the drainage system and “overwhelms” the sewers which then flow into gardens and streets.

Southwick residents now have a meeting to voice their concerns with Southern Water bosses later this month. The cause has also been backed by East Worthing MP Tim Loughton.

A Southern Water spokesman apologised to residents, adding: “Due to the consistent heavy rainfall, the ground in the area has become saturated and the local drains and sewers inundated with surface water run-off. This is putting significant pressure on our local sewage network.

“Since Thursday, 22nd February, our teams have been on site implementing a range of flow management solutions including over pumping from a foul sewer to a larger foul sewer, tankering away flows and regularly checking the sewer network to mitigate the issues.

“We are making every effort to protect customers and the environment through this exceptionally challenging period. We have and continue to check in with affected customers on site and support them. We continue to thank them for their patience during this exceptional period.”