Tankerloads of sewage are again being transported through Exmouth to the Maer Lane treatment works after another burst pipe.

South West Water are currently in the process of replacing a long stretch of pipework in Phear Park.

On Tuesday, February 13, a pipe burst in a field near Maer Lane, and tankers were brought in to take the waste water to the sewage treatment plant while the pipe is repaired. There were reports of sewage overflowing into Littleham Stream and being carried into the sea and on to the beach at low tide.

The Environment Agency issued a sewage pollution notice for the beach and bathing waters.

South West Water said: “We know there have been a number of bursts in this area in recent weeks and we want local residents to know that we are sorry. We will repair the burst as soon as possible and are also working on a long-term solution for the area.”

That’s not good enough for local campaigners ‘End Sewage Convoys And Poollution Exmouth’ (ESCAPE), who say it’s clear that South West Water’s existing sewage pipe network simply cannot cope.

Geoff Crawford from ESCAPE said: “We consider that these bursts are a direct result of them increasing pump pressure and sewage volume throughout without first replacing the old pipe, which SWW state has been determined to be compromised by age and decay.”

Jo Bateman, who is taking South West Water to court over sewage pollution in the sea at Exmouth, said: “It’s frustrating – this just goes on and on, without any acknowledgement from them that they’ve failed to add to the infrastructure as required and to maintain what’s there.

“They tell us the sewage system in Exmouth is not at capacity - but if it’s spilling over as often as it does, then it is over capacity.”

The MP for East Devon, Simon Jupp, said: “The ongoing situation is completely unacceptable and has once again demonstrated the dire need for fast-tracked investment into Exmouth’s water infrastructure, which I have demanded to be fully funded by South West Water.

“I have asked to be kept updated by South West Water on the situation ahead of my meeting with their senior leadership this week. We pay the highest sewage bills in the country. We demand better from South West Water”

Mr Jupp said he has also asked the water regulator Ofwat to include this latest incident in its ongoing investigation of South West Water’s performance.

However, Exmouth’s campaigners don’t think an Ofwat investigation will achieve much.

Jo Bateman said: “They get fined, but that’s not enough. For example last year they were fined £2.15 million pounds for illegal discharges but they gave their shareholders £112million. Those fines sound like a lot of money but it’s not for them, it’s a fraction of what they’re giving to their shareholders.”

In South West Water’s latest update on the Exmouth burst pipe, issued at 7pm on Tuesday, February 13, the company apologised for the traffic disruption caused by the tanker movements, and said: “We’re repairing the burst as quickly as we can and will be fitting an overland pipe in the next few days that will transfer wastewater around the burst section. As you are aware, this depends on weather conditions, supply of materials and any potential flooding, which has cost us delays previously.

 “Once the overland pipe is in place, tankering will stop. We’ll then refocus our teams on replacing the rising main on a permanent basis.”