South West Water to 'crack on' with improving Lyme Regis sewage systems
Concerns have been raised about poor water quality there
South West Water has promised to crack on with improvements to the Lyme Regis sewage system after concerns were raised about poor water quality.
They've made the pledge at a River Lim Action group this week.
Chief Operating Officer John Halsall said:
“We won’t wait for Ofwat to give us approval before we start the improvement programme. That could take 12 months or more. South West Water are doing a good job on this – I promise you that if you give us a bit of time, we’ll crack on as fast as we can."
He said the funding had been underwritten by the company so the work could start without delay.
Work carried out at the Uplyme Sewage Treatment Works in May is already believed to have improved water quality.
The Action Group continuously monitors the river, providing data which supports observations about cleaner water and fewer smells.
South West Water says the improvements mean no more spills when the weather is dry.
The River Lim Action group called for an upgrade of the Sewage Treatment Works. Liz Davis from the group told South West Water during the meeting:
“The system was designed for up to 16,000 people in 1991, now there are up to 40,000 in the summer. We also have more houses now putting pressure on the system. Whilst our group appreciates that much is being done, we will continue to work with and put pressure on South West Water to address the significant problems that persist."
The improvement programme will focus on better separation of rain water and sewage.
South West Water have explained:
“We have commissioned an impermeable area survey of the whole of Lyme Regis, we have not done this before. The surveyor will colour a map showing where each area drains, e.g. highways drains, surface water, soakaways, or combined sewer. We can then see where we need to carry out surface water separation. We need to complete this survey to know the detail of where surface water separation will take place, how much is needed and when it will happen."