'Staff abused and equipment sabotaged' as repairs taking longer than expected
South West Water say 'we are sorry for any inconvenience caused by this ongoing work, which our teams are working hard to resolve as quickly as possible'
South West Water has written to residents in Exmouth warning: "We are saddened to hear our contractors have been verbally abused and sabotage to their equipment has been attempted."
In the letter, posted and emailed at the weekend, they added: "This has caused further delays to fixing the issue (in Exmouth) which they now estimate could last 11-12 weeks.
The water firm say bursts on a sewer main in Phear Park, weather conditions, trouble accessing materials and flooding have led to delays and 'more disruption than normal for a repair like this'.
Chief Operating Officer John Halsall has given this update
They've now fitted an 'overland pipe' to 'take flows around the bursts' but admit 'when we put flows back into the sewer, the build up of pressure caused another burst further up the sewer', which has now been resolved.
They are now looking to start on a permanent repair, as they replace 600 metres of pipe from the new Plump Park housing estate up to the treatment works.
It comes as East Devon's MP has hit out at South West Water for three pollution incidents in a month because of burst pipes.
Simon Jupp has urged the firm to improve its infrastructure - after a meeting with bosses to discuss problems. It comes as over the weekend bathing at Perranporth is currently being advised against. The South West Environment agency say water quality is likely to have been affected by a pollution incident - and that staff are on site, while investigations continue.
The MP for East Devon, Simon Jupp, met with the Chief Operating Officer of South West Water, John Halsall, and the Environment Agency’s Area Director for Devon, Mark Rice, in Exmouth 'to challenge the water company on its handling of the ongoing incident in the town'.
Simon Jupp MP visited Maer Lane Sewage Treatment Works – South West Water’s sewage treatment plant in Exmouth - and the site of a damaged pipe in a nearby field which burst on the 30th of December.
After the meeting, he said: "Following the burst of the pipe, South West Water say that it has been necessary to tanker flows from the pipe so that the burst area is clear for its teams to focus on making a repair. Serious concerns have been raised that South West Water have been using tankers to transport sewage to a recently overflowing pumping station on Maer Road.
"South West Water insist that they initially had to tanker to Maer Road Pumping Station because of flooding on the route to Maer Lane Sewage Treatment Works but since this route has become clear they have been tankering to Maer Lane.
"This burst pipe is the third incident in a month resulting from failures in South West Water’s infrastructure. It follows a power outage at Maer Lane Sewage Treatment Works earlier in December resulting in what the Environment Agency called “non-compliant spills,” and another burst pipe in Exmouth on 12th December 2023 which also required tankers to transport sewage.
"South West Water previously indicated to customers that the use of tankers would stop on Wednesday 3rd January as they planned to complete the installation of a replacement temporary sewer pipe. However, the new pipe is still not yet in operation due as South West Water have confirmed yet another burst on the original pipe and say the challenging weather conditions in recent days have hindered progress. As a result, the tankers continue to disturb local residents day and night, which is unacceptable.
"Simon Jupp MP challenged South West Water on when the temporary pipe would be operational and repeated his calls for substantial long-term investment into their local infrastructure.
"South West Water say a permanent solution will be in place within months which involves a new pipe being installed to replace the burst pipe. The company also committed to upgrades of its Maer Lane Sewage Treatment Works.
"The Environment Agency confirmed their investigation has started with a full team planning to visit the site of the damaged pipe as a matter of urgency."
Simon Jupp, MP for East Devon, added: “South West Water’s lack of investment in Exmouth has come back to bite them and they must pay dearly for what they’ve done. During my meeting in Exmouth,
"I demanded that South West Water finally deliver on their word and complete the installation of the new temporary pipe as a priority, as well as providing a clear public timeframe for a permanent solution.
"I also met with local residents and offered my support to them following the unacceptable impact South West Water’s terrible performance has had on their day-to-day lives. Despite South West Water’s failures,
"I want to thank their ground teams and contractors for their efforts in resolving the immediate issues. The abuse they have faced is completely unacceptable.
"I am working with the Environment Agency, Ofwat and the Minister for Water as investigations continue into this sorry state of affairs."
South West Water’s Chief Operating Officer, John Halsall, said: “I was pleased to meet with Simon Jupp MP and the Environment Agency in Exmouth to discuss our repair at Phear Park, and to share our investment plans for the area.
“Reducing the use of storm overflows and protecting our natural environment is a priority for us and we know there is more to do and that is why we are investing record amounts to dramatically reduce our use of storm overflows.
“We understand that this is an important and sensitive matter for residents in and around Exmouth. As part of our ongoing programme of work under WaterFit we are investing £38 million in Exmouth up to 2030 to help make the improvements we all want to see.
“Regarding the current burst in the area, our teams continue to work around the clock to fix the issue at Exmouth and install a temporary pipe so we can make a full repair without the need for further tankering.
“We are sorry for any inconvenience caused by this ongoing work, which our teams are working hard to resolve as quickly as possible.”