A water main that has burst several times over the last five years is set to be replaced.

South East Water is set to replace around 270 metres of water main in Newhaven as part of the company’s commitment to invest £489 million in improving its infrastructure by 2025.

It comes after a series of bursts affecting the section of the water main, with ten bursts reported in the last five years.

Jeremy Dufour, project manager for South East Water, said: “The burst rate of this water main is unacceptable to us. We know how disruptive this is to our customers, both from the interruption to their water supply and the traffic disruption caused while the pipe is repaired.”

The section of the water main, in the Fort Road area, will take place in two phases; the first is between the junctions of Geneva Road and Court Farm Road and the second is along Court Farm Road, from the junction with Ford Road to the children’s play area.

Work on the project, expected to cost around £280,000, is due to start on Monday, October 30, and is expected to take approximately ten weeks to complete.

To ensure the safety of the public and maintenance workers, multiway traffic lights will be in place while the new main is being laid.

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Phil Jones, head of leakage operations for South East Water, said: “It’s great to see another engineering project due to start to replace an unreliable section of the water main.

“While we work hard to find and repair leaks on our 9,000 miles of pipeline, it is vital that consistently unreliable water mains such as this one are replaced.

“This project will improve our infrastructure, protect the long-term supply of water to the area and reduce unexpected disruption to the community.”

Residents in the area will be able to keep up to date with progress by visiting southeastwater.co.uk/fortroad.