South East Water plans for Eastbourne reservoir go on display

Proposals to build another reservoir in East Sussex have gone on public display.

South East Water intends to build either a second reservoir in Arlington, near Eastbourne, or a water recycling scheme nearby.

It said the reservoir would help reduce leaks, increase supply for customers and would see new pipes being laid.

The plans come after customers experienced a hosepipe ban last year, as well as water supply issues.

Many of the region's water outages were caused by burst water pipes.

South East Water's reservoirs in Ardingly and Arlington store up to 8,300 million litres of water and provide 8% of the water supplies for customers.

However, reservoir levels dropped in December last year after the rapid thaw of frozen pipes increased the level of bursts and leaks on South East Water's underground network of pipes.

As a result, thousands of customers across the South East were left without water for days.

While in August last year, a hosepipe and sprinkler ban was implemented for South East Water customers following the driest July on record.

South East Water head of water resources Lee Dance called on customers to share their views on the company's proposals, to "help create a better plan, ensuring it's robust enough to keep taps flowing to 2075 and beyond".

Plans for a further reservoir at Broad Oak, near Canterbury, Kent, also go on public display on Tuesday.

The consultation period for both proposals close on 20 February.

Details of the Arlington reservoir plans can be found at a public exhibition at Berwick Village Hall in Polegate, or on the South East Water website.

Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].