Southern Water has selected a village for its latest pilot which will see the rolling out of “innovative” nature-based and engineering solutions to cut storm overflows.

Bosham, looking out on to Chichester Harbour, is heavily affected by groundwater in wetter months and this can lead to private pipes and Southern Water’s network being overloaded.

The water company's new pilot will seek to address that challenge by using "tried and tested" techniques used in the Pan Parishes of Hampshire, near Andover.

The project will include relining and sealing up to 9.9km of sewer in nearby Funtington, with more than 1.5km of this to be completed over the next year, building a new wetland scheme close to Bosham Wastewater Treatment Works by summer 2027 and sealing private pipes where required to reduce infiltration into the sewer network.

Chichester Harbour, which is a designated area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB), had sewage water pouring into the bathing site from October 24 to November 23 for 1,200 hours.

Last year, Southern Water was responsible for 29,494 spills, up from 16,688 the previous year. 

Its sewage spills lasted for a total of 317,285 hours in 2023, equivalent to more than 36 years. 

The announcement of this new pilot comes after Southern Water received government backing for an extra £10 million of spending over the next year to tackle storm overflows, before the company plans to enact its £1.5 billion Clean Rivers and Seas Plan from 2025, with some of this money contributing to the project.

Task force delivery lead for Bosham Joff Edevane said: “We’re really excited to begin work on another pilot that will make a real difference to reducing storm overflows in and around Chichester Harbour.

“We know that this area of our region suffers with significant groundwater challenges, so we are keen to employ a mixture of approaches that have proven successful elsewhere to tackle this problem and reduce storm overflows. We are looking forward to working closely with the local community during these efforts, for the benefit of customers and the local environment.”