South West Water has completed work to replace an 800-metre section of sewer in Exmouth. 

Following four bursts to the sewer since December 2023, around £2 million has been invested to replace the stretch of pipe running from Plumb Park housing estate to Maer Lane.

To prevent further bursts, South West Water has also relined the sewer from Maer Lane into the sewage treatment works by creating a new pipe within the existing one.

To fit the new section of the sewer, a 1.5-kilometre temporary overland pipe was installed to divert wastewater flows around the damaged section of pipe.

South West Water is now removing this pipe and its other equipment to restore the area to normal.

Other work includes pump upgrades at Maer Road Pumping Station to reduce the use of the storm overflow, and expanding the capacity of Maer Lane Treatment Works to reduce spills during periods of heavy rainfall.

The water board says: "This new lining will be as strong and offer as much resilience as a replacement pipe would, without the added time and disruption a new pipe would have taken to lay.

"This work will add resilience to the local network and prevent bursts."

John Halsall, chief operating officer, said: “This has been a huge challenge and once again I’d like to reiterate how sorry we are for the disruption it has caused residents and landowners.

“We’re really pleased to have completed this work to stop issues like this from happening again, and I would like to thank all of our operational teams and supply partners who have worked so hard on this project in extremely difficult weather conditions.”