Agenda and minutes

Venue: Hollybank Room, Public Service Plaza, Civic Centre Road, Havant, Hants PO9 2AX

Contact: James Harris  Deputy Democratic Services Team Leader

Items
No. Item

26.

Apologies

To receive and record apologies for absence.

 

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Councillors Raines and Shimbart.

 

27.

Declarations of Interest

To receive and record any declarations of Interests from members present in respect of any of the various matters on the agenda for this meeting.

 

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

 

28.

Review of Southern Water Authority - Discharges into Langstone Harbour pdf icon PDF 1 MB

The Board is conducting a short inquiry into the discharge of sewage effluent into Langstone Harbour.

 

Representatives of Southern Water Authority have been invited to attend this session to give evidence and answer questions from members of the Board.

 

Members of the public are welcome to attend and observe this session and may request to make a deputation to the Board on this matter. The rules governing this procedure may be viewed using the link below:

 

http://havant.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s25010/Deputations%20at%20Committees%20of%20the%20Council.pdf

 

Please note that any requests to make a deputation must be made in writing (an email to DemocraticServices@havant.gov.uk will suffice) and received by the Democratic Services Team by no later than 5pm on Friday 9 November 2018.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Board received a presentation By Sam Underwood and Paul Kent from Southern Water.

 

The Chairman then invited the following members of the public to make their Deputations to the Board:

 

Mr Richard Platt

Mr David Parham

 

The Chairman opened the challenge session and explained that the session would comprise of three elements:

 

·      The blocked pumping station at Stoke on Hayling Island on 15 September 2018;

·      The electrical fault at Budds Farm on 14 September 2018; and

·      Communications

 

The blocked pumping station at Stoke on Hayling Island on 15 September 2018

 

The Board was advised that the failure had been due to both pumps becoming blocked by wet wipes.  The incorrect disposal of wet wipes was an increasing problem and the Board noted that the issue had recently been raised in the national media.

 

Upon the failure occurring, a warning alarm had been received at Southern Water’s Control Centre in Worthing and a local responder dispatched to investigate.  This was in accordance with standard procedure, which was for a local responder to assess and repair if they were able or arrange for the appropriate remedial action.  In this instance the latter took place and tankers were dispatched whilst the pumps were repaired.  Southern Water apologised for the length of time that the repair took, which was due to the clean-up required after some of the contents of the wet well entered the dry well.

 

In response to questions the Board learnt that screens or filters were not usually fitted to pumps, although Mr Kent agreed to investigate whether there were any engineering solutions to the problem.  Southern Water concentrated on education to prevent wet wipes being disposed of down toilets and also lobbied manufacturers and the Government via the appropriate body, Water UK.  It was confirmed that there had been educational visits carried out on Hayling Island during the past year.

 

The Board was advised that pumping stations were routinely checked and it was agreed that the inspection schedule for the Stoke Pumping Station would be forwarded.  Residents were not usually alerted to problems in their area, unless homes were at risk of flooding.  However, this would be discussed with Southern Water’s Customer Engagement Manager to review whether there were any opportunities for improvements.

 

With regard to clean up operations, it was confirmed that the Environment Agency led on compiling an action plan, which was then carried out by Southern Water.  In the instance of the Stoke Pumping Station incident, tankers took away the untreated effluent and the system was then flushed through with treated effluent once the repairs had been completed.

 

The Board raised the issue of overgrown ditches, as these had the potential to hamper the natural process of untreated effluent breaking down by blocking UV light.  In reply Mr Kent confirmed that ditches were checked after any incidents and agreed to investigate the Board’s suggestion that they be checked annually.

 

In response to specific detailed questions, Mr Underwood agreed to report back on the following:

 

·      The frequency  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.