Anger at delay in clearing sewage from beauty spot
SOUTHERN Water has been criticised after pollution spewed into Langstone Harbour – and then wasn’t cleared up for six days.
Unscreened raw sewage has spilled from the company’s pumping station at Fort Cumberland, Eastney, on four occasions since December.
Langstone Harbour Board, which manages the protected wildlife area, has criticised the firm as sewage was still on the shoreline six days after a spillage in January.
The company has to report any illegal discharges as soon as they happen and promptly remove offensive material from the shoreline.
Jackie Branson, chairwoman of the harbour board, said: ‘Obviously it’s not acceptable.
‘Normally they are quite good, and I’m not sure what happened with this incident.
‘This is sadly going to be an ongoing problem until they have got the new screens installed.’
The latest pollution incidents follow a string of leaks over the last 18 months following problems with the sewage screens at Fort Cumberland.
Raw sewage ends up being pumped into the harbour whenever there is very heavy rainfall.
The problem lies in the filters becoming blocked during periods of heavy rain.
Southern Water was fined £50,000 in April last year for 36 illegal discharges from the outfall pipe in Eastney.
Leilah Nicola, a spokeswoman for the company, said: ‘Southern Water takes its environmental responsibilities seriously and we’re working on a long-term solution to resolve the problems with the screens at Fort Cumberland.
‘The problems began after screens that filter solid debris, such as nappies and wipes, from wastewater were damaged during a storm. A temporary solution was put in place but during severe weather they can struggle to cope with the force of the flows.
‘We regret and apologise for the current situation and we are now developing a £10m scheme that will prevent the screens from failing in future.’
The work is expected to be completed by the end of 2013.
Regarding the clean-up delay, she added: ‘We always aim to clean up the affected stretches of beach at the very earliest opportunity.
‘Unfortunately, this did not happen in early January, as it appears the incident was not escalated correctly through the company. We apologise for this error and are looking at ways to ensure it doesn’t happen again.’
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Friday 25 May 2012
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Comments
There are 5 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
BrigitteB
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 03:17 PMWrinkley, 'Rouge' goes on your cheeks a.k.a. 'Blusher! - ;)
monkeybreath
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 08:42 PMBlame Spell check.
Sailor Sam
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 08:22 PMmonkeybreath @1. Why do you consider that Southern Water are on a par with people who sell women's eye makeup? I can see nothing wrong with rouge traders, or lipstick traders for that matter.
Coffeedrinker6
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 07:21 PMHow many times before the essential works are completed in 2013 will this happen. Southern Water has been apologising constantly and making promises. This is no way to serve the community who are effectively paying your wages With reference to the comment from Southern Water about the matter not being escalated effectively through the company isnt it about time that a company like Southern Water got their act together. Come on where is the accountability here?
monkeybreath
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 06:30 PMSouthern Water are crooks, on par with rouge traders and fly tippers. THey are only concerned about shareholder profits. Many people in Portsmouth area pay huge amounts of money to this company each month simply for sewage disposal, which they have no choice or say in. For this obscene amount of money we should expect a first class service, but do we , no. Pity prison sentences can not be given out to members of the board for this latest fiasco of allowing sewage discharge illegally. not once but 36 times and only 50k fine, thats small change , no wonder they continue to get away with it.
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