Work has begun to fix misconnected pipes that are pumping waste water from toilets, kitchens and bathrooms into the sea.

The misconnections in Deal, Leysdown and Minster were identified following months of extensive surveys to pinpoint wastewater pipes which are incorrectly plumbed into surface water drains.

These misconnections mean that wastewater from toilets, kitchens and bathrooms flowsout to sea before it’s treated, affecting the quality of bathing water at local beaches.

With initial surveys now complete, the scheme has entered its second phase and we’ll be working with local authorities and property owners to put them right and better protect the environment.

The work is part of our £31.5 million Bathing Water Enhancement Programme, which will bring bathing water quality up to the ‘excellent’ standard by 2020 in seven coastal areas of Sussex, Kent and the Isle of Wight.

Southern Water Programme Manager Chris O'Grady said: “We’re committed to creating a cleaner and healthier coastline for us all to enjoy, and tackling misconnections is a major step towards achieving that.

“Identifying misconnected pipes was a huge undertaking, but helps us get to the root cause of one of the sources of pollution in our seas. We’ll now be focussing our efforts on working with property owners and local authorities to get these fixed as quickly and efficiently as possible.”