"Something has to be done": Resident angry at raw sewage flooding out of Lewes drains

A resident in the town says that localised flooding on Nevill Road is due to a ‘poor’ drainage system owned by Southern Water and claims it has been an issue in the local community for more than twenty years.

The site – on the Nevill Recreation Ground and close to Lewes Victoria Hospital – floods whenever there is a very heavy downpour, leading to raw sewage erupting out of the manholes.

They said: "I had the most horrendous experience of walking through it with my two small children and pushchair on Monday (September 5).

“It was their first day back at school, on what should have been a fun morning, back starting Year One at school.

"I didn't realise until it was too late and to my disgust we had walked & pushed the pushchair through human faeces & toilet paper. It's a good job I have a strong stomach.”

"After spending the morning contacting Southern Water & East Sussex Highways. To be told it was an ongoing issue for years and there nothing they can do. Southern Water sent a guy out to check the manholes and all he could do was just spray a bit of pavements with disinfectant.

"He gave me some of his disinfectant to soak my pushchair wheels. I had to throw my walking boots away.

"We have only lived on this road just over three weeks. It's really taken the shine of what should be a happy time moving to a new home. I feel sorry for those that have lived here for years. It's only the start of the rains for autumn and winter, I am now dreading the rest of the year.”

Southern Water told SussexWorld it had checked on site and it appears that the issue was caused by a highway gully being blocked with leaves that caused the flooding.

In August 2018, Nevill Green was submerged in sewage water following a heavy downpour.

At the time, Sarah Neels – joint chair of Nevill Residents’ Association – said East Sussex Highways and Southern Water should have an open meeting involving the Nevill Residents Association, to resolve the issue.

The resident also said she had contacted both organisations, but was told the drainage issues had been ongoing for years and there was nothing they could do.

They said: “Apparently this is a known issue. Lewes District Council told me they were not aware that there was raw sewage present in the water, they thought it was just run off from roofs and surrounding hills.

"I'm amazed it's taken until me, now, just getting in touch with all these people for them to be aware of how bad this is. Something has to be done.”

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Maria Caulfield, Conservative MP for Lewes, said: “Residents in Nevill Road raised this with me earlier this month, I then immediately contacted Southern Water who assured me that a plan was being put in place to prevent this from reoccurring.

“The investigation flagged that there are issues with a build -up of un-flushable materials combined with rainwater run-off from rooves.

“I will continue to push Southern Water and the local authority to resolve this matter.”

East Sussex Highways have been approached for a comment.