Flooding ‘Waterworld’ at Sayers Common

Residents in Dunlop Close and elsewhere in the village have experienced floods in their gardens and sewage bubbling up on an annual basis. However, this year, with unprecendented levels of rainfall, they say the situation is even worse.

Dunlop Close resident Judith Marsh, who sent us this picture of floodwater resembling a stream at the bottom of her garden, said: “If they build a new town, it will be like living in Waterworld.

“The sewer system becomes infiltrated with surface water and it fizzes up through the manhole cover in our close. It fizzed up most spectacularly last Thursday evening. It belches up through our sinks and we can’t use the washing machine because the water is contaminated.

“This is happening year on year but this year it’s the volume and speed of the water.

“I appreciate that other parts of the country are suffering far worse flooding, but this area is unsustainable for a large number of houses.”

Nick Herbert, the MP for Arundel and South Downs, who has spoken out against building a new town on a flood risk area, has personally written to Judith to tell her the time has come to gather experts round the table to hold another drainage meeting to “demand action”.

He said: “I am really sorry that this awful problem continues. I raised the general drainage problems in villages in my constituency and inadequate infrastructure to support new development in the Commons with Eric Pickles in his statement on flooding.”

Judith said Southern Water engineers were doing all they could in the face of unusually heavy rainfall to pump out the water that gets into the sewage system but stressed that a long term solution involving several agencies is needed.