Southern Water vows to cut sewage spills by 20%

Southern Water says the changes will mean 1.8m litres of extra capacity at its Swalecliffe site

Southern Water says investment in a wastewater treatment works in Kent should reduce sewage overflows after storms by up to 20%.

The firm says it is creating extra capacity to hold storm water at its Swalecliffe site near Whitstable, Kent.

Campaigners have accused the company of breaking promises it has previously made on reducing spills.

In 2021 the company was fined a record £90m for deliberately dumping billions of litres of raw sewage into the sea.

The company said £7m has been earmarked for spill reduction works at Swalecliffe, in addition to other measures.

Investments include the installation of a new water chamber and pipework which the company says will allow an extra 1,800 cubic metres (1.8m litres) of water storage as well as plans for 2,000 slow-draining water butts at homes along Tankerton beach.

So far, £250,000 has been spent re-engineering pipework at one of the sites four storm overflow pipes, an action Southern Water says will reduce the number of spills by 20%.

Jon Yates, project manager for Southern Water, said: "We are under no illusions that our environmental performance in the Whitstable area must improve and this is just the latest milestone in the programme of work we're doing to address storm overflows here."

The firm says it has a long term goal of reducing waste water spills in Whitstable by 90% by 2029.

Sally Burtt-Jones, from SOS Whitstable, said Southern Water's ambition to tackle wastewater spills was decreasing

Sally Burtt-Jones, from Campaign group Save Our Seas Whitstable, said: "We have been promised a 30% reduction in the number of combined sewer overflows by spring 2024.

"However, now it is looking like a reduction of 20% by spring 2025 and we feel like, to be honest, the time lines are being stretched."

Earlier this year bosses at the water company opted not to take bonuses following criticism of the firm's sewage discharge record.