South West Water has completed work to reduce storm overflow spills from one of its top 10 spilling sites after relining over 500 metres of sewer.
Honiton Wastewater Treatment Works in Devon saw 219 storm overflow spills in 2024, making it the 10th highest spilling site across Devon and Cornwall.
Following interventions from South West Water, which included relining 525 metres of local sewer, this number has dropped to 31 spills in 2025 so far.
The work, which was completed in January 2025, also saw improvements made to 23 manhole covers to prevent groundwater from getting into the sewer network.
Relining sewers reduces the amount of groundwater entering the local network during wet weather which can otherwise overwhelm the treatment works and lead to a storm overflow spill.
An initial inspection of the sewers is carried out by CCTV surveys to identify areas that may be impacted by groundwater.
Affected areas are then thoroughly cleaned so the lining material can be pulled through the inside of the pipe and laid in place.
The lining is then cured inside the sewer to provide a watertight protective seal before further CCTV surveys are used to confirm the lining has set as required.
Charlie Ford, South West Water’s Project Manager for Honiton, said:
“We’re really pleased with the results of the work we completed earlier this year and the impact it’s having on our spill performance so far.
“Keeping groundwater out of our sewers helps to free up space within our wastewater treatment works and makes a real positive impact on the local environment here in Honiton and across the region where similar work is being carried out.”
This is one in a series of successful changes South West Water is making around Turning the Tide – where the company is investing £760m to reduce storm overflows across the region as part of its record investment over the next five years.
This work will see it become the first water company to meet the government’s target of achieving less than 10 spills per overflow, per year, by 2040 – a decade ahead of target.
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