Sewage spilled into the ocean for nine hours after a failure at Peacehaven sewage plant

The release started at 10.35am on Wednesday, February 21, from its Portobello outfall 2.5km off the Peacehaven coast. There was also a 12-hour release the following day, which Southern Water said was due to the technical failure and heavy rainfall.

According to Southern Water a spill would have occurred regardless of the failure due to heavy rainfall, but that the failure could have impacted the duration of the spill.

A spokesperson for Southern Water said: “Resolving issues at our treatment works is an absolute priority and we have a team working on shifts around the clock to minimise the impact and remedy the problem as soon as possible.

“This issue has been caused by a problem with the treatment process. We’re continuing to treat wastewater at the site –but at a reduced capacity which is why we’re notifying the Environment Agency and carrying out environmental monitoring.

“We are taking daily samples to assess any impact on bathing waters, the results of which will be shared with the Environment Agency once they are available from the laboratory undertaking the tests. Unfortunately resolving the issue due to the nature of the work will take at least two weeks. We’re very sorry for the impact this is having.”

Southern Water added that any releases are being screened to remove solids and will be heavily diluted with rain and surface water.