Having spoken to Southern Water about the reports of a pollution incident at Fullerton I have received the following statement from them. Please direct any comments to them via 0330 303 0368
Southern Water are aware of recent (12 February) customer sightings of pollution from their Fullerton Wastewater Treatment Works. The company has reviewed videos which were sent in, showing some discoloration within the water course. The company believes these were taken at the Fullerton Wastewater Treatment Works outfall and has confirmed that the site is operating within the conditions of its permit.
The company’s environmental impact teams also immediately carried out a detailed inspection of the outfall and the riverbank and were unable to find any evidence of sewage pollution (up to 750m downstream of the Fullerton outfall). They have undertaken water quality samples and have found no evidence of environmental impact.
Southern Water confirmed that since the end of November 2023, Fullerton Wastewater Treatment Works has been experiencing higher flows than usual due to exceptional volumes of rainfall, which have contributed to an elevated water table and subsequent groundwater infiltration within the sewer network. Site flows at the works have been operating at a maximum treatment capacity of 455 litres per second – any excess flows (i.e. above that 455) received at the treatment works will begin to fill 4 storm tanks located on site with a total volume of 5200m3. In the event that those storm tanks had all been filled, there would be a release of the untreated, screened wastewater to the adjacent river.
On Thursday 8 February, Southern Water says its site did however experience a technical fault which resulted in a short duration of an unpermitted release of wastewater. This was quickly resolved and was a screened release – the company has not found any evidence of “rag” (visible debris) but continues to investigate. Its teams immediately took water quality samples following this brief release, and it’s not believed to have caused an impact to the environment. The Environment Agency attended on Friday (9 February) and both organisations continue to work together to assess any impacts.
Southern Water staffs this site 7 days a week to ensure the site performance is where it should be because of the sensitive nature of the watercourse and, it emphasises, as a mark of how seriously the company takes protecting it. Southern Water has confirmed that it will add additional monitoring visits for the remainder of the week (and if necessary, beyond) to ensure the site does not have further challenges with unpermitted releases.
If you see something that you think might be a pollution, please contact Southern Water on its emergency number: 0330 303 0368.
