Sewer fixed to stop decades of wastewater spills

A major sewer bottleneck, believed to have contributed to storm overflows into Portsmouth Harbour for decades, has been removed.

Southern Water said it had found a "pressure point" in the underground pipework beneath Stanley Road in the Stamshaw area of the city, where flows from six storm overflows were combining at a 90-degree bend.

The layout was causing flows to back-up at times of high volume, making local storm overflows more likely.

The utility company said the sewer layout had been redesigned and rebuilt to maintain a steady level of flow.

The £250,000 project was delivered by its Clean Rivers and Seas Task Force, which aims to cut the number of storm overflows.

This is when limited amounts of sewage are allowed to be discharged into rivers, lakes or the sea during periods of excess rain.

The company has faced criticism from environmental campaigners for the impact of pollution on the environment.

It was hit with a £90m fine, four years ago, after raw sewage was discharged across Hampshire, West Sussex and Kent.

Southern Water's Steven Reed said: "We're really pleased that we have been able to utilise an engineering solution to fix the Stanley Road bottleneck.

"This work sets the tone for what's to come by exploring every part of our network to find different ways to create healthier rivers and seas by reducing storm overflows."

You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.