I have had a call with Southern Water this morning to discuss groundwater levels in the Test catchment and the impact that is having on ingress into the foul water drainage in some parts of the constituency.
The borehole at Vernham Dean is now at 124.9m above ordnance datum, which is higher than the 121m it was at in 2013/14 when there were significant problems with sewage bubbling up through sinks and drains into people's homes. I am aware of at least one property in my constituency which already has this issue. There has been in the region of £1m of spending by Southern Water in the Longparish area in the intervening 10 years to help tackle ingress from groundwater.
In their letter to me of 19th Jan (which made no mention of over pumping) they stated, "We are pleased to report that despite experiencing comparable groundwater levels in 2020 and 2021 as those in 2013//14 the impact on customers in terms of flooding and restricted toilet use has been significantly lower. This suggests the sewer sealing work carried out in the network has been effective in mitigating the impact of groundwater infiltration." But just a few days later over pumping into the Test is being actively considered again.
I know the Environment Agency has expressed concerns to Southern Water and there are further environmental assessments going on as a result. The Test is one of the finest chalk streams in the world and it was only last month I was with fellow Hampshire MPs and the Hants and IOW Wildlife Trust hearing just how important it is. None of us want over pumping into it and it can only be as an absolute last resort.
But, yesterday there was sewage spilling onto the playground of Longparish Primary School, and I know of residents in Longparish already impacted by sewage bubbling up through their plug holes into their kitchens. The incident at the Primary School was not a hazard to the children, they were all brought back inside immediately, and it necessitated the tankering operation that was already going on to be increased.
The Southern Water tankering operation in the area is now at maximum capacity, I have asked SW for more tankers and they just do not have them.
The very bad news is that March is the peak month for groundwater, and we are still not at the end of January. So this situation has yet the capacity to get worse. I am sure none of us wish to see friends and neighbours with sewage in their homes, so there will be a difficult judgment to be made as to what the feasible way forward is. There is no rain forecast for a few days which will help, but I understand Southern Water's senior management will be making a decision about the way forward after the weekend.
