Southern Water opens £300m Sussex seawater scheme

Southern Water has officially opened its £300m environmental improvement scheme, which intends to bring cleaner seas to Sussex, UK.

The project includes 11km of new sewer tunnels, two pumping stations, a wastewater treatment works and a 2.5km-long sea outfall.

The scheme ensures that 95 million litres of wastewater produced per day by people in Brighton and Hove, Peacehaven, Telscombe Cliffs, Saltdean, Rottingdean and Ovingdean is treated to European Union (EU) standards.

Under the project, over one million cubic metres of earth was moved at Peacehaven alone, and reused on-site as part of the landscaping.

The new treatment works at Peacehaven is covered by a green roof and planted with downland grasses to help it blend into the surrounding landscape. The works cover just one third of the construction site while the remaining grounds have been returned to agricultural land and a new park for the community.

Southern Water project manager for the scheme Richard Hodgson said that the company’s plan to bring cleaner seas to Sussex was nearly 16 years in the making.

"This has been a major engineering operation and is the largest ever project that Southern Water has undertaken. Construction took four years and I must thank the communities in which we have worked for their patience and support over that time," Hodgson added.