South West Water has apologised for a sewage spill that affected bathing water at Exmouth, blaming a process failure at its Maer Lane treatment works.
The company confirmed the spill occurred this week from the site. The issue has been fixed, and the firm said it has updated the Environment Agency. The spill has renewed focus among residents on whether Exmouth's sewer system can cope with the expected housing development in the coming years. The largest prospective scheme could be on land at St John's, which has been identified as able to accommodate around 700 homes. Known officially as Exmo_20 in East Devon District Council's draft local plan, campaigners include sewage as one of their reasons for opposing the allocation.
A statement on the Stop Exmo_20 petition page says: "If you care about where we live and are concerned about the impact that a 30 per cent increase in housing around the Exe Estuary would have on our struggling sewerage, highways, dentists, healthcare, schools, water supply and other infrastructure & services as well as the detrimental effect on wildlife and the natural environment, please sign our petition."
David Reed MP (Conservative, Exmouth & Exeter East) said the Environment Agency had confirmed the sewage entered the surface water drainage system and a watercourse that discharges into Exmouth bathing water. Elevated levels of ammonia had been found upon testing. In a Facebook post, he said: "This incident only reinforces the very little confidence I have left in South West Water and its management of sewage infrastructure in Exmouth. Local people are rightly fed up with repeated incidents and deserve clear answers about how and why this has happened. The Environment Agency has confirmed that its investigation is continuing and that enforcement action will be taken where appropriate. I will be demanding a swift and full investigation into this incident, including what caused the spill, whether it could have been prevented and what action South West Water will now take to make sure it does not happen again."
A spokesperson for South West Water said: "We experienced a process failure at Maer Lane Wastewater Treatment Works at around 6am on Wednesday morning, which led to a spill of partially treated flows from the site. We have fixed the issue and carried out sampling and a clean-up of the area. We are sorry this has happened and we are working to make sure it does not happen again."
The company added it was keeping the Environment Agency updated and that the flows that had left the site had been screened and partially treated.
South West Water Apologises for Exmouth Sewage Spill, MP Demands Answers