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Four sewage releases were authorised in Bognor Regis earlier today (May 18), after Southern Water teams worked through the night to contain the flooding from a burst pipe near Yapton Road.

The releases took place at Bognor Regis East, Aldwick, Middleton-on-Sea and Felpham at 8am this morning, with each one lasting 0.45 hours, according to Beachbuoy – the Southern Water-produced app which provides real-time updates on wastewater releases across the South Coast.

Several larger releases were also authorised yesterday evening (May 17), across bathing sites in Bognor Regis East, Aldwick and Felpham. Starting out at 8.44pm, each one lasted 18.25 hours.

All six releases come after a sewage pipe in a rural field near Yapton Road burst on May 16. Southern Water teams attended the incident at around midnight and are still there now, working to contain the flooding and using tankers to transport the to different outfalls and manhole covers across the region.

In order to keep residents safe, warning notices have been erected in near the sea in places like Middleton, Bognor Regis and Felpham.

In an update issued this afternoon, Alex Saunders. Head of Wastewater Networks at Southern Water, said:“We’re sorry for the continued noise and disruption from our tankers in Bognor. We’re repairing a large sewer in a field north of town and we must use the tankers to take wastewater to our treatment works to be safely treated.

“This is a large and complex operation which must be done absolutely right to protect the environment. There are as many as 58 tankers operating from different pumping stations which feed the broken pipe delivering waste to three different treatment works. This is one of our largest ever tanker operations. We’re working as quickly as is safe but there are no shortcuts. We will keep our customers updated.”

The burst pipe and sewage releases come amidst continued controversy for Southern Water. Last month, locals in Bognor Regis organised a protest outside MP Nick Gibb’s constituency offices to criticise his voting record on sewage disposal, dentistry and holding water companies like Southern Water to account for their conduct.

Burst sewer pipe in Bognor Regis: wastewater releases authorised as work continues on pipe

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