A scheme which will secure the future of water supplies in an area of East Sussex is due to begin next week.
The £400,000 project in the Framfield area will see a total of 2.6km of tough 90mm and 125mm diameter plastic water mains laid as part of South East Water’s ongoing mains renewal programme.
David Brend, Delivery Manager for South East Water, explained: “The existing cast iron water mains form a strategic part of our water mains network in Framfield and supplies 113 people with drinking water straight to their taps.
“However, while they have done sterling work to serve the area, they are now around 70-years-old and are clearly coming to the end of their working life. With an increasing number of bursts it is vital we act now to ensure that our customers’ water supplies are protected.”
Work is due to begin on Monday 19 July in both Preston Grove and The Bungalows.
Once complete South East Water will then move to The Street, Framfield, the week commencing 26 July 2010. This has been arranged to coincide with the school holidays to minimise traffic disruption.
Once this section is complete the scheme will continue along the B2102, The Street and Framfield Road, then up Pound Lane and Gatehouse Lane to finish at Upton Farm.
The whole scheme is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2010.
Work will be carried out from Monday to Friday between 07.30am and 17.30pm.
As work will be within the highway to ensure the safety of the workforce as well as motorists temporary two-way traffic lights will need to be installed.
A full road closure will also be needed for the work in Pound Lane and Gatehouse Lane.
The water mains will be laid using a rolling work front method – so at any one time only a 150-metre-long section of road will be affected by the construction work and temporary traffic lights.
South East Water will ensure access to residents’ properties up until the point where it is laying the main across access routes. When this occurs, the contractors will liaise with residents directly to ensure that access is maintained.
David Brend added: “We would like to apologise in advance for any inconvenience but hope our customers and the wider community understand how important it is that we tackle this work. We hope this short term pain will be for a long term gain as we secure drinking water supplies.”
