South West Water forced to apologise after sending hundreds of tanker loads of sewage to seaside resort

The chief executive of an embattled water company has apologised to customers after it transported millions of litres of raw sewage through a coastal town in tankers before disposing of it at an overflowing pumping station.

South West Water (SWW) is facing the anger of residents of Exmouth, east Devon, who say the company’s “deplorable” actions led to the overspilling of more raw sewage into the sea just a short distance from the town’s popular sandy beach.

The situation in the seaside resort triggered an investigation by the Environment Agency, which also warned swimmers not to go into the sea until 8 January.

Geoff Crawford, the founder of End Sewage Convoys and Pollution Exmouth (Escape), said the water company had put its financial interests ahead of the environment, and had left the town “on edge” over sewage pollution.

He added: “People weren’t aware of the problem, but then the convoy of tankers moving raw sewage through the town really brought it home, then there was the notification of overspilling into the sea and the closure of the beach.

“There is a general anxiety across the town. It’s clear sewage was sent to an overflowing pumping station and dumped into the sea.”

Susan Davy, chief executive of the company, told a special meeting with councillors and other angry locals on Thursday evening: “It’s my job to ensure we walk in the shoes of our customers, and for the residents in and around Exmouth we haven’t done that, and I’m sorry.

“That’s not to say that my team and I don’t care – we do. But it’s right that I take responsibility and accountability for South West Water’s actions. For disturbing the community and having an impact on the environment I’m truly sorry.”

One resident claimed there had been an unprecedented number of reports of people and dogs falling ill since the spills.

Dan Wilson, a town and district councillor, said after years of failure by South West Water, if he had been in charge, he would resign.

Asked whether she would stand down, Ms Davy said she was confident the company had the right team in place, after managers outlined plans for £38m of investment in infrastructure over the coming years.

SWW has already faced criticism for pollution during a drive by the government to cut the number of illegal spills. It was fined £2.15 million last year for issues across Devon and Cornwall.

Last week, John Halsall, chief operating officer of the firm, issued a “heartfelt apology” to residents in a video posted on the company’s website, but denied the company had “caused environmental impact” by sending sewage to an overflowing pumping station.

The issue began when flooding on 30 December forced the transportation of waste in tankers from a Phear Park Pumping Station to Maer Road Pumping Station.

The lorries had previously been taking the waste to Maer Lane Sewage Treatment Works due to a burst in a pipe linking the sites.

But the flooding, plus a promise not to send tankers through a village, led to the decision to use Maer Road Pumping Station as the destination for up to 240 sewage-filled vehicle journeys a day.

Only after a “brief period of time”, according to Mr Halsall, said to be four days, did the company redirect the lorries back to the treatment works.

Mr Halsall said: “In the end we had to say, and apologise to local [village] residents and say we’ve got no choice, we just need to tanker through the village and that’s what happened.”

But for the campaigners in Exmouth, that decision came too late after, they say, more sewage was added to the overflow coming from Maer Road Pumping Station into the sea.

Xural.com