A COUNCILLOR is ‘on the warpath’ against Anglian Water over ‘decades of flooding' and recent sewage leaks in Southend.

Cllr Martin Terry says he is preparing to write to Anglian Water to demand the firm invests in improving infrastructure following the latest round of flooding.

Last weekend an outfall near Camper Road began to spill sewage into the sea – caused by a collapsed sewer pipe which feeds Southend Water Recycling Centre – forcing the council to close the beach from Southend Pier to Thorpe Hall Avenue.

Just a few days later heavy rain across south Essex saw flooding along Southend seafront, with homes and businesses damaged.

“Victoria Road, and I know because I lived there for 20 years, has had flooding for at least the last two decades on and off,” Cllr Terry said.

“I now expect Anglian Water to put their hands in their pockets and start improving some of their infrastructure as residents have had to suffer with this for years.”

A Southend Council spokesperson said it would look into “what has been learned from this situation and how similar situations could be avoided.”

The spokesperson added: "Our immediate attention is focused around supporting Anglian Water so that they can resolve their issue with the sewage pipes as quickly as possible.”

“It’s happened so many times now that I have lost count. Every time there is a minor failure in part of their network we get flooding,” Cllr Terry continued.

“We have got businesses and residents being disrupted, the environment being polluted and it’s not acceptable.

“I’ve been a councillor for 19 years and I am now on the warpath over this, I’m fed up with it. I’m representing my residents, in my ward and I will get this sorted out.”

On Thursday, Anglian water said its engineering teams had been working ‘24 hours a day’ to repair the collapsed sewer pipe.

An Anglian Water spokesperson said: “Our main sewer pipe is damaged at the point where it comes into the Water Recycling Centre in Southend. This damage requires a major repair. We haven’t had an incident like this for more than a decade, and our teams are working round the clock to put things right. Repairing this is a significant engineering challenge, made harder by how deep under the ground it is and is our main priority at this time. It is separate to the surface water flooding caused by the exceptionally heavy rainfall earlier this week.

“Surface water flooding is complicated and involves several partners including local councils, Environment Agency, highways as well as ourselves. Typically it is caused by large volumes of rain falling in a short amount of time on hard surfaces, like those along the pier front. A bit like a bath plug hole, it takes time for the water to drain away. In Southend when this coincides with a high tide the water simply can’t get away and it causes the drainage network to back up. 

“Over the last five years, we’ve invested around £20million into refurbishing and improving the sewer network and water recycling centre in Southend. Earlier this year we cleaned and inspected 80km of sewers in the, investing around £370k and removing 200 tonnes of unflushables from the network, which would reduce the risk of flooding in the area. We’re also already working in partnership with the council to deliver Defra’s Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme – with £6million specifically targeted for work to reduce surface water and coastal flooding in Southend.”