The quaint village of Alfriston is grappling with a severe flooding crisis that has not only inundated homes but has also compromised the community’s access to fresh drinking water. The relentless rainfall and subsequent flooding have led to significant operational disruptions at a local water treatment facility, leaving residents in a dire situation.
South East Water, the utility company at the forefront of addressing this calamity, has issued an apology to the affected residents, acknowledging the distress caused by the lack of water or the presence of low water pressure. The areas most impacted include Alfriston and its surrounding locales, with Berwick, Ripe, and Wilmington experiencing similar challenges.
In a strategic move to mitigate the crisis, South East Water has successfully rerouted the water distribution through its underground pipeline network, restoring supplies to a majority of customers in Berwick, Ripe, and Wilmington. However, Alfriston remains in a precarious position, with the company deploying tankers to inject water directly into the area’s supply system, offering a glimmer of hope for intermittent water supply.
The root cause of the supply disruption has been identified as the heavy rainfall and flooding, which inflicted technical setbacks on the water treatment works serving the area. Despite the adversity, South East Water’s teams have been tirelessly working to rectify the issues, with overnight efforts aimed at reinstating the water treatment facility’s operational capacity.
While significant progress has been reported, the utility provider has cautiously advised that the normalization of water supplies may not occur until sometime tomorrow. In the interim, residents have been directed to bottled water stations located at The Singing Kettle in Alfriston and the Arlington Reservoir Car Park in Berwick for their immediate needs. These stations, which closed at 9 pm on Wednesday, are expected to reopen on Thursday morning and will remain operational until the crisis is fully resolved.
