Precious water pours down the drain

Sussex residents have been urged by Southern Water to do everything they can to save water as drought measures continue, but it took the company 28 hours to turn out to fix the leak in Angmering Way.

Chris Snell, who lives in Angmering Way, reported the leak last Tuesday afternoon, but claims it was not until later the following afternoon that workmen arrived to repair the pipe.

Mr Snell said: "It makes me feel very cross because if I was using a hosepipe to wash my car then I would be prosecuted, but they're doing nothing while thousands of gallons of water are going down the drain."

Mr Snell said he measured four gallons of water coming out of the leak in less than a minute, amounting to more than 6,000 gallons over 28 hours, enough to fill more than 300 baths.

"I've got no problems with the fact that there's a leak, but Southern Water have known about it for more than 24 hours now and done nothing about it," he said. "If it was just a dribble it wouldn't be so bad but it's a river of water running down the road and has lifted up the road surface.

"We had the letter from Southern Water only last week reminding us about the water shortage.

"They asked us to save water and now there's this leak and they don't seem to want to do anything about it."

Jessica Spratt, spokeswoman for Southern Water, said: "When Southern Water became aware of the leak at Angmering Way, the inspector who was on-call that evening was informed immediately.

"Unfortunately, he was already in the middle of repairing a burst water main nearby, at Old Worthing Road, which involved him working well into the night to fix.

"The next day the leak at Angmering Way was prioritised and staff were on site as soon as possible working to fix the problem and stop the water from being wasted.

"We appreciate residents calls to make us aware of any leaks, as we all need to work together to help beat the drought.

"In light of the current water shortage, Southern Water aims to deal with all leaks within 24 hours of hearing about them."

Last week Southern Water sent out letters reminding its customers of the need to save water during the current drought, the worst in Sussex for 30 years.

The existing hosepipe ban will remain in place until reservoirs have recovered, and the prospect of standpipes in the street is looming.