Major scheme to prevent sewer flooding in Exmouth

15th December 2014

A £736,000 scheme to prevent sewer flooding in Exmouth gets under way next month.

South West Water will be constructing new surface water sewers to remove surface water from the sewerage network and making other improvements to prevent internal and external sewer flooding in the town and reduce the risk of pollution to the Exe Estuary.

Work starts on Monday 5 January and will be completed by Friday 3 April 2015.

The work is centred at two locations:

Camperdown Terrace: Construction of new surface water sewers, undertaking surface water separation at 20 houses, construction of three new surface water outfalls and two small pumping stations.

The Strand: Reconfiguration of the local sewerage system and construction of a small pumping station.

Project manager Andy Young said: "Sewer flooding is unpleasant enough when it affects roads and open spaces but can be devastating when it affects homes and businesses.

"Camperdown Terrace and The Strand are currently served by a combined sewerage system - pipes that take both waste water from homes and businesses and surface water from roads and roofs. During times of heavy rainfall, they can struggle to cope with the volume of incoming surface water, which can lead to flooding.

"This project will go a long way to alleviate flooding and pollution in the area."

A number of roads will need to be temporarily closed to traffic during construction:

• Camperdown Terrace - Monday 5 January to Saturday 14 February 2015
• Trinity Road - Monday 16 February to Friday 6 March 2015
• Queen Street/rear of The Strand - Monday 23 February to Friday 27 March 2015
• Point Terrace - Monday 9 March to Friday 27 March 2015

During the Camperdown Terrace closure, the bollards between Camperdown Terrace and Shelly Road will be temporarily removed to allow residents to access their properties.

A dedicated customer liaison officer has been appointed for the scheme to ensure local residents are kept up to date.

Notes for editors

• South West Water provides water and sewerage services to over 1.7 million people across Devon, Cornwall and parts of Somerset and Dorset
• South West Water operates over 640 sewage treatment works and 29 water treatment works
• We also operate nearly 900 sewage pumping stations
• On average, the company supplies its customers with 350 mega litres (77 million gallons) of drinking water and treats 585 megalitres (129 million gallons) of sewage every day
• South West Water maintains 15,570km of public sewers and 15,200km of water mains - if laid end to end they would reach Australia and back

Published: 15 December 2014