Water quality investigations in Alexandra Park, Hastings

Update 20 September

Our work to find misconnections is continuing and we're also looking to host a community drop-in day in October with residents in Hastings where they can talk to us about any concerns they have. We will share further details when they are confirmed.

Our misconnections team have done the following in the area

Ghyllside Drive

• A total of 12 different sections of foul sewers were found to be leaking into the surface water sewer making its way into the watercourse (all 12 of these have been fixed)
• Three properties found to have wrongly connected drainage causing their grey water waste to discharge into the stream (all 3 have been rectified by the homeowners)
• One property found to have damaged their private foul sewer manhole causing the wastewater to leak into the ground and finding its way to the surface water sewer and into the watercourse (this has been rectified by the homeowner)
• Temporary sewer diversion has been completed to prevent foul water entering the stream. This will be in place until all issues have been found and fixed

King Edward Avenue

• Two sections of public foul sewers have been found leaking into the surface water sewer that discharges into the local stream
• One section of 145m have been repaired by re-lining, and the other one which is 100m long is in process of being re-lined
• Temporary over-pumping is set so none of the contamination is entering the stream – this will be in place until all issues have been found and fixed

Update 10 August

We’re continuing our work to find misconnections and improve the network around Alexandra Park and areas near watercourses in Hastings.

At Ghyllside Drive we have done the following

• Relined 200m of sewer
• Relined nine other sewers amounting to 90m worth of sewer
• Found and fixed three misconnections
• Identified a damaged sewer chamber on private land
• Installed a temporary sewer diversion to stop pollution and remove need for tankers

At King Edward Avenue our work is also continuing and we are continuing our over pumping operation to stop pollution and have also relined a significant section of sewer at Madeira Drive.

Update 12 July

We take reports of pollution very seriously and our teams investigated reports earlier this week of sewage in watercourses. Our teams tested for sewage in three different places including two surface water outfalls. However, the samples did not show any issues.

We will continue to work in the area looking for misconnections and any issues with our network.

Update 10 July

Our teams worked to deliver letters to residents around Alexandra Park and in areas where we have been working. 

Signs with QR codes, which people can scan for the latest updates have been put up around Alexandra Park. 

Update 7 July

We are continuing to work hard in Alexandra Park and the surrounding areas to find misconnections and improve water quality.

We have now completed a number of repairs on 191 meters of sewers and identified three misconnections at Ghyllside Drive. Elsewhere in Hastings we are looking for more misconnections and investigating two surface water sewers at King Edwards Avenue.

Our teams will continue to be in the area over the next week and many residents close to Alexandra Park will have received letters updating them on what we’re doing in the area.

Update 3 July

We have successfully stopped wastewater from a surface water pipe entering the watercourse. We’re continuing to investigate the issue that is the root cause of this.

We will be standing down tankers in the area but the overpumping operation will remain in place. We will be continuing water quality testing for the foreseeable future, so we can resolve any issues where we find them and help protect the local environment

Update 2 July

Our teams remain in attendance in King Edward Avenue, Hastings, and have closed part of the road to traffic.

They are investigating a problem with a surface water pipe, which takes water from roofs and roads, and flows into a pond in Alexandra Park.

Some wastewater has been found in this surface water pipe, which should not be there. A temporary pumping solution has been put in place to divert water from the surface water pipe into the wastewater sewer so it is taken away for treatment.

Although part of King Edward Avenue is closed to traffic while the pumps are in place, access remains for residents.

We continue to monitor water quality in the pond, and are using specialist equipment to add oxygen into the water to help support wildlife.

The pumps will remain in place until we find and fix the root cause. We appreciate the patience of the local community while we carry out this important work.

Update 27 June

Following the initial incident last month we have stepped up our sampling across the area. This has found various issues in the Old Roar Ghyll area, including a number of misconnections.

A misconnection is where wastewater is incorrectly connected to a surface water drain rather than a foul sewer. We believe there could be several in this part of Hastings so our teams are looking for them as part of our ongoing work to reduce pollution.

On Saturday June 24 we discovered a leak from a manhole on St Helen’s Road, near Coronation Wood which was caused by a defect in the sewer leading to this manhole. We acted immediately to put in place protection measures including sandbags and haybales to minimise the risk to the environment and completed a repair on Sunday (June 25)

What other actions have we done and when?

16 June – We carried out an investigation after we were concerned about water with high ammonia readings. As part of this we discovered a leak and relined two sewers near Ghyllside Drive, we have continued to reline sewers in this area as our investigations continue and we hope to complete further relining by Friday (June 30) at Ghyllside Drive.

22 June – Our investigations have taken our teams further downstream, where we’re hunting for more misconnections.

Background

In May, we first attended the Alexandra Park area due to reports of a flooding manhole, close to Buckshole Pond in St Leonard’s.

Although we quickly identified and fixed the initial blockage, caused by a build up of unflushable material, our specialist teams remained on site to carry out water quality testing, clean the area and assess any further environmental impact after the pollution resulted in dead fish and eels.

Unfortunately, in the week commencing June 12 we identified a further blockage. We acted immediately to protect a stream close to Buckshole Pond, supported by tankers. This was successfully contained.

We are sorry for the distress and inconvenience these incidents have caused to the local community. As a precaution, we continue to test the water quality in the area. Initial results have not raised concerns, and we are looking into reports of blue discolouration.

We remain in regular communication with the local community and the Environment Agency and will update this webpage if there is further information to provide.