A £700,000 project to replace a water pipe in the Rye area is underway

Fresh drinking water supplier South East Water will be replacing a 900 metre section of pipeline that has burst 21 times in the last five years. The project forms part of South East Water’s £489 million five year investment programme which includes the replacement of unreliable water mains.

Project Manager Jeremy Dufour said: “As a water main starts to reach the end of its working life, it can become unreliable. When this happens, we schedule it in for replacement or reinforcement. However, such work can take time to plan, particularly if road closures are required. The amount of bursts on this section of pipeline in Clayhill is unacceptable to us, and we know how much disruption and frustration it causes for residents and motorists each time it needs repairing.

“By replacing the pipeline, we’ll be securing the flow of top quality drinking water to residents now and reducing the need to repair the pipe in the future.”

The project got underway on Monday February 27 and is expected to take approximately 26 weeks to complete. The work will take place between the Rose And Crown public house, and the property ‘Jasmine Cottage’.

A diversion route is in place as the project will see part of the B2165 closed from the start of works to the end of July, part of the B2088 closed from the end of July to the end of August and the junction of the B2165 and B2088 closed at the end of August.

Jeremy continued: “Road closures are always a last resort but the health and safety of the public, motorists and the community is always our number one priority.”

“I would like to thank the community in advance for their patience and understanding while we carry out this essential work.”

Jim MacIntyre, South East Water’s Head of Leakage Operations, added: “I’m delighted to see another project to replace an unreliable water mains about to start.

“Leaks and bursts do happen on our 9,000 miles of pipes and although the majority are repaired, where we have a consistently unreliable water main, engineering projects such as this scheme in Clayhill are vital to improving our infrastructure.”

Residents can find out more about the project at southeastwater.co.uk/clayhill.

For more information on South East Water’s work to improve its network of pipes, visit southeastwater.co.uk/engineering.

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