Mims Davies MP joins Urgent South East Water meeting sharing Constituents Concerns
Mims Davies MP said:
This afternoon my constituency team and I joined an urgent update team on the local water situation of terrible weather due to Storm Goretti which has caused huge damage and impact across the country. We joined other MPs and their offices from across Sussex and Kent.
Leakage associated with the cold weather and impact of the storm has created low water pressures, outages and bursts, and is up to 90mega litres a day – a 60 mega litres increase in demand due to leakage impact.
Power outages due to the storm have left a hugely busy period affecting some parts of our area, worse than others and trying to balance water across the system is the key focus to South East Water so we all have what we need.
Mims continued:
If large bursts do continue, it can change the situation which can’t be predicted but monitoring, evaluation and engagement is ongoing and communications with our teams will continue.
Barcombe, in our patch, is a key site including the Wych Cross area which is somewhat under pressure with homes nearby currently affected but services are expected to improve overnight.
Wivelsfield had a burst earlier this morning, SEWater immediately reduced water to repair the issue and all is now fixed. This is on top of pump failures yesterday which have also been resolved with all running smoothly now.
SEWater believe if we continue seeing the recovery they’re seeing, all should be good over the weekend.
This is the strongest hope and fingers crossed the network continues to recover they have 12 tankers, 20 staff all on constant emergency standby for any outages impact to get water to those in need.
If you believe you should be on the PSR list (Priority Services Register), or have any issues - contact South East Water - [email protected]
I will be sure to keep you updated on nay developments and please keep checking their website for further news.
Mims proceeded regarding Plaw Hatch:
I was also advised, Storm Goretti has affected their ability to treat the raw water at the normal rate at our main Sussex water treatment works.
Coupled with the outbreak of burst water mains on their network due to the freeze/thaw conditions being experienced across Kent and Sussex, their drinking water storage levels are running low.
As a result, some customers in East Grinstead and the surrounding areas may experience no water, intermittent supply or low pressure today (Friday) and into the weekend.
They have apologised to all customers who may be impacted by this and are working hard to maintain supplies and are moving water from other areas of their network to supply parts of East Grinstead and the surrounding areas, as well as using tankers to inject water directly into the network to support where possible.
They are also proactively contacting hospitals, care homes, and schools in the area to arrange alternative water to maintain provision for these critical supplies.
As a precaution, they've delivered bottled water to customers in the Plaw Hatch area who have signed up to their Priority Services Register, and are most in need which is a free service for those who need additional support, and details about what they offer and how to register can be found here:
southeastwater.co.uk/priority
