Following the burst sewer experienced in Exmouth a few weeks ago, South West Water would like to provide an update to everyone in the area about the work they are doing and the progress they have made to put things right.
Richard Price, South West Water’s Managing Director for Waste Water Services said
Firstly, I would like to say how sorry we are for the disruption the burst has caused residents and the wider community in Exmouth since the middle of August. We have over 100 people working around the clock to fix the issue and we’re doing everything we can to protect the network from future bursts.
As many of you will know, we experienced an unexpected burst on the sewer that runs from Maer Road Pumping Station to Maer Lane Wastewater Treatment Works on 14 August, and our teams worked rapidly to stop the leak within two hours so we could start work on a temporary solution to bypass the damaged main so that a permanent repair can be made.
To allow this complex work to happen we have installed four overland pipes - each almost 400 metres long – to bypass the section that needs investigating, in addition to two further temporary pipes that go all the way from the pumping station to the treatment works. This means wastewater can be pumped up to the works for treatment as normal and also means we no longer need to use tankers, which were stood down as we know how disruptive they can be.
A considerable amount of additional work has also been carried out to ensure the system can operate as normal while we investigate and repair the sewer, including adding devices that help manage the flows being pumped through the temporary pipes.
Now that the damaged section of sewer has been taken offline, we are carrying out CCTV work both upstream and downstream of the burst section to investigate the condition of the pipe and evaluate any other sections which may need replacing before the sewer is repaired and brought back online.
We know how disappointed residents and visitors to Exmouth are. I would like to reassure you that we are doing everything we can, as quickly and thoroughly as possible, to ensure your local wastewater network is fit for the future.
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