East Devon District Council (EDDC) is urging South West Water (SWW) to end sewage spills, following a burst sewage pipe in Maer Lane, Exmouth on Tuesday.

In February, the council voted that they no longer had confidence in the water board, following a spate of burst pipes in Phear Park, and sewage spills out to sea from Exmouth.

On Tuesday (August 13) a 'bathing not advised' notice was issued for Exmouth, following a sewage pipe burst near the the Maer Lane pumping station. Read more: Exmouth's Maer Lane closed due to sewage pipe burst

In response to a pollution incident in Exmouth, Paul Arnott, East Devon District council's leader, has issued a statement.

“In February this year, East Devon District Council formally voted to express "no confidence" in South West Water. Many incidents both before and after that decision have fully justified the vote, but the major sewage spill at The Maer last night represents an historic new low. Despite multiple reassurances from South West Water that they have Exmouth under control, they simply do not. This incident not only impacted our residents but also the tens of thousands of tourists that visit Exmouth.

“Our officers and the Environment Agency attended the site as soon as the spill was reported and took direct action to advise residents and visitors not to bathe in the water.  I thank them for their rapid response.  Due to the severity of the spill, today we have had to ‘red flag’ bathing until we are satisfied that any sewage has dispersed.  We are also closely monitoring the impact on one of our car parks.

“As a council, we are meeting South West Water following the vote of no confidence and the ongoing issues with the company. But I urge them to think about their actions and agree a way forward to ensure this does not happen again. 

“We will continue to monitor the situation and will hold South West Water to account.”

In response to EDDC's comment, a spokesman for SWW said: “We understand and appreciate the concerns of the council and our customers in light of the recent bursts in the area. We want to reassure them that we are working extremely hard to fix the burst sewer at Maer Lane and we are sorry that this has happened. We have kept East Devon District Council consistently updated throughout this incident and we will continue to do everything we can to deliver improvements in Exmouth.”

"A meeting was held between SWW and EDDC officers on 15th August 2024 to discuss this incident alongside other issues."