Repairs ongoing after wastewater incident at Eastbourne water treatment site

A total power failure hit the treatment plant on Saturday morning, causing the untreated wastewater to pass out of the sea outfall.

The water company said their staff worked ‘round the clock’ to restore the site and that no sewage had been released since then.

The site now has generators set up to power it, while repairs take place.

A Southern Water spokesperson said, “Works to continue carrying out the necessary repairs at our wastewater treatment site in Eastbourne are ongoing.

“This follows an unexplained total power failure on Saturday which resulted in untreated wastewater being released via our sea outfall.

“The power failure was unforeseeable but no spill is acceptable to our customers or to us.

“Our teams worked around the clock and in very difficult conditions to restore the site on Saturday afternoon - no untreated wastewater has been released since then.

“We will continue to liaise with the local council, the Environment Agency, and speak with beach-goers as we continue to carry out our works, and take samples from the site to assess any impact. We apologise again and thank everyone for their patience.”