Caroline Nokes, MP for Romsey and Southampton North, local County and Borough Councillors, as well as Parish Council chairs for the area met with Southern Water on Tuesday 2nd April to understand the issues surrounding storm overflows and challenge Southern Water about their investment and storm overflow reduction plans.
The group spent the morning in Thruxton to learn about the results of the Pathfinder project, a pilot initiated following the publication of DEFRA’s storm overflow reduction plan. For the last 3 years the project has been tackling overflows, the constant village disruption of tankers pumping water and the overpumping of sewage into the Pill Hill Brook. Public sewers as well as private laterals of over 500 houses in Kimpton, Thruxton and East Cholderton have now been relined. Over the three-year time period the Pan Parish Forum for this area in collaboration with Southern Water achieved a reduction of tankers from 38 to just 3, with no further overpumping into the Pill Hill Brook this year despite a 30 year high in ground water levels.
Following the morning’s discussions the group including Caroline Nokes MP, County Councillors David Drew and Chris Donnelly and Borough Councillors Maureen Flood and Susanne Hasselmann saw a swale garden at Kimpton, Thruxton and Fyfield Church of England Primary School, a prime example of how a collaboration between local Councils and Southern Water can reduce the volume of water that goes down our public sewer system by ensuring the storm overflows stay on the property.
In the afternoon the group visited Fullerton Wastewater Treatment works to have a tour of the plant, as well as discussions with Southern Water management about their future investment plans to add capacity to the works. The group also challenged Southern Water about pumping sewage into the river and their actions to alleviate the situation.
Caroline Nokes MP said: “Security of water supply, wastewater disposal and preserving our beautiful chalk rivers is of paramount importance. That is why I have been very active in Parliament, voicing my constituents’ concerns and actively pushing for greater transparency and legislative interventions. It is a complex area that requires everyone to engage, from Southern Water to the Environment Agency, Ofwat and Government, as well as local communities and Councils.”
“As a result of the Environment Act 2021 wastewater treatment plants are required to continuously monitor water quality upstream and downstream of their assets. We reminded Southern Water that this data should be promptly published and be easily accessible. We extensively talked about river pollution and Southern Water’s action plan. They have pushed their capacity to 25% above their maximum limit in the short term and have plans to invest in capacity expansion over the next 5 years. We will keep in close contact with them and follow their progress ”
David Drew, County Councillor for the area added: “It is clear that this is not an easy problem to solve. When the water levels are at a thirty-year high and the chalk conditions in our area put immense pressure on the submerged pipes, we get water ingress. The pilot project on the Pill Hill Brook shows that relining the public and the private sewers in the hot spots can have a huge benefit. We therefore have to maintain pressure on Southern Water to continue their investment in these kinds of projects. The water must go somewhere and if the pipes and the connections between them are not up to the job we are faced with a stark choice: sewage coming up in people’s houses and flowing down the High Street, or overpumping into our beautiful rivers, a precious asset to all of us. In addition, we must separate groundwater and storm waters from our foul drainage system, and fast. Seeing the pile of wet wipes they take out of the sewage system and that cause such a headache I think a ban on these non-clinical wipes would be sensible”
Susanne Hasselmann, Borough Councillor for Anna Ward where the Pathfilnder pilot project is taking place, suggested: “We have learnt from the pilot project that Parish Councils have a vital role to play. By collaborating with each other and being focused on one or two outcomes-(in the case of the Pill Hill Brook this was the reduction of tankers in villages and overpumping into the river - a pan parish group has the ability to bring Southern Water to the table and work on specific local issues. They are the link to the local communities which is essential in guiding the water companies, identifying local solutions and smoothing the path. The last three years of the pilot project have been extremely disruptive to the local communities but the results now speak for themselves.”
