Even cleaner seas for Teignmouth

11th November 2014

A £659,000 project to deliver even cleaner seas off Teignmouth gets under way today.

South West Water will be constructing a 500 cubic metre underground storage tank in Teignmouth station car park.

This additional storm water storage capacity will reduce the number of discharges from the sewerage network during extremely wet weather. The project is designed to improve bathing water quality at Teignmouth ahead of the European Union's revised Bathing Water Directive, which comes into effect in 2015.

Senior Project Manager Mike Court said: "This represents a major investment in bathing water quality, which will benefit the tourism industry in Teignmouth.

"We believe that, with the help of the local community, this major investment will help deliver even cleaner seas for Teignmouth, in time for the new European bathing water standards next year.

"You can help by checking your property is correctly connected to the foul drainage system - investigations by the Environment Agency and South West Water have identified that homes with plumbing that is incorrectly connected into the surface water system are a source of faecal pollution to some of the bathing waters in the South West.

"Some drains lead directly to rivers and beaches, so please don't pour paints, oils or chemicals down them. Nappies, wipes, cotton buds, fat, oil and food waste can all block drains and cause pollution so please dispose of them correctly."

Work starts in the car park on Tuesday 11 November. Construction is taking place over the winter to minimise disruption to the tourist industry and avoid using the car park over the busy summer period.

The work will take place in three phases with up to 44 spaces taken out of use at any one time. Bus and taxi services in the station forecourt will be unaffected as will dropping off and parking in the rest of the car park. Alternative parking is available in other public car parks (for details see www.teignbridge.gov.uk/carparkmap).

South West Water will continue to work closely with Network Rail, FirstGroup and others to ensure any disruption and inconvenience during construction is minimised.

For more information see www.southwestwater.co.uk/evencleanerseas

Notes to editors

• South West Water has invested more than £2billion to transform bathing water quality across the region over the past 20 years
• That investment continues - in 2014/15 we are spending up to £20 million on a range of schemes further to improve bathing water quality at Lyme Regis, Teignmouth, Torbay, Mothecombe, Seaton (Cornwall), Looe and Combe Martin in preparation for the European Union's revised bathing water directive
• This investment is being financed from South West Water's own resources and does not impact on the average household bill. South West Water is the only water company committed to this early investment
• In our business plan for 2015-20, which is due for final approval by Ofwat next month, we plan to make significant further investment to deliver further bathing water improvements, while pegging average bills well below inflation
• We remain committed to working with other organisations and local communities so that residents and visitors alike can continue to enjoy the South West's beautiful beaches.

Published: 11 November 2014