Sewage leaks into Battle stream

Southern Water and the Environment Agency were called to Marley Lane following reports of pollution leaking into the stream, which is tributary of the River Brede.

Battle resident Stephen White told the Observer on Thursday morning: “The stream that runs alongside the sewer works is gushing with green water and there seems to be a high volume of tankers trying to collect the water through a pump.

“There’s a lot of activity down there, people in high vision jackets and people checking the stream further down in the field.”

The leak happened close to the Marley Lane sewer works, but the incident was not caused by the pumping station.

Representatives from the Environment Agency were at the scene in an advisory capacity, but told the Observer yesterday (Thursday) that they believed the leak did not pose a threat to the environment.

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “We are satisfied at the moment there currently is not any threat to the local environment, but we have been assisting Southern Water in determining exactly where this discharge has been coming from.”

A harmless green dye was put into the stream in a bid to find the source of the leak.

A spokesperson for Southern Water said: “Our engineers on site have found the leak to be coming from a blocked sewer.

“We’re now in the process of clearing the blockage, after which we’ll carry out a thorough clean-up.

“We take our environmentally responsibilities seriously and will be working with the Environment Agency to put things right.

“While looking for the source of the leak we carried out dye tests, in which coloured dye was put in the sewer system to track the flow.

“This is normal practice and the dye, which may have affected the colour of nearby watercourses, is non-toxic and completely non-harmful.”