South West Water says they have finished installing a temporary pipe that will divert flows around a damaged section of sewage pipe in Maer Lane.

They say they will now focus on making a full repair at the sewage treatment plant on Maer Lane. Tankers which was transporting sewage from the site over the weekend have now been stood down. 

Exmouth beach is now also back open to swimmers, after being closed for four days following an Environment Agency 'bathing not advised' notice as tankers transported sewage from the Maer Lane site to the storm overflows on Exmouth seafront. The re-opening is partly down to tankers have now stopped transporting.

A full statement from South West Water said: "We have successfully finished installing the temporary pipe which will divert flows around the damaged section, so we can turn our attention to making a full repair.

"This progress means we no longer need to use tankers to transport flows from the pipe and these have been stood down. As a precaution, we will have some tankers remain on standby in case we experience further issues. As a small amount of tanker transport is part of the day-to-day running of the site, this will continue as normal but that is always the case.

"We would like to again thank residents for their continued patience whilst the works are taking place and we are sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.

A burst pipe on December 30 caused South West Water to transport sewage in tankers so the burst area is clear for its teams to focus on repairing. 

South West Water says it initially had to tanker to Maer Road Pumping Station because of flooding on the route to Maer Lane Sewage Treatment Works but since this route has become clear they have been transporting the waste to Maer Lane.

A power outage at Maer Lane Sewage Treatment Works earlier in December resulted in what the Environment Agency called “non-compliant spills,” and another burst pipe in Exmouth on December 12 which also required tankers to transport sewage.

The Environment Agency also confirmed their investigation has started with a full team planning to visit the site of the damaged pipe as a matter of urgency.

It said: "We are aware of the issue at Exmouth pumping station. We are investigating what has happened. Officers have attended site and are closely monitoring activity, as well as working with South West Water to ensure the pumping station is back in operation as quickly as possible."