Water firm makes vow after pellets pollute beach

Southern Water has apologised after the plastic pellets washed up on Camber Sands beach

A water company has vowed to improve its understanding of the water treatment process after millions of plastic pellets washed up on an East Sussex beach.

Southern Water has said it is "highly likely" that millions of pellets escaped onto Camber Sands over the weekend due to an issue at its Eastbourne wastewater site.

An apology has been issued and an investigation promised after the discovery of a defective tank at the underground treatment site.

John Peniculd, Southern Water managing director of wastewater, says the defect was spotted on 28 October but it was not known that any pellets had escaped.

He told BBC Radio Sussex: "We've got over 600 tonnes of beads on the site. It wasn't clear to the team at that point that any had actually left the site.

"That's one of the things we're investigating now, independently, in terms of how we can get a better understanding of how the water and how the treatment process works around these tanks."

Mr Peniculd confirmed that the screen, which was part of the defective tank discovered at the end of October, had been replaced in 2019.

He added that Southern Water currently has a team of around 50 people at Camber Sands as part of the clean-up operation being led by Rother District Council.

Volunteers cleaning up the pellets at Camber Sands have described it as "the worst single incident" they have encountered

Non-profit organisations Strandliners and Nurdle, which have previously been involved in this process, have said that they will not be in attendance on Tuesday.

Strandliners wrote on Facebook: "The local community and volunteers have given so much time and energy into the response.

"Now that SW [Southern Water] have admitted responsibility they and Rother District Council Coastal Officers will be working on-site."

When asked who will foot the bill for this clean-up, Mr Peniculd said it was a "complicated mix" of both customer and shareholder funds.

"The clean up is part of our operational costs...that comes out, if you like, as customer bills every five years.

"Our shareholders do put money into the company. Our shareholders have put over £2 billion worth of equity into the company over the last five years."

He also confirmed that this is the first such spill at the Eastbourne wastewater site, which has been operational for over 20 years.

There have been two separate pellet spillages in other parts of the UK where Southern Water does not operate, the managing director added.

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