Pollution warning after waste leak in River Adur and 'potentially' Worthing - 'Do not go into the water'

Adur and Worthing Councils has issued a firm warning this morning (Wednesday, January 10).

"Southern Water has informed us about a leak from a local outfall pipe that has spilled waste into the sea,” a statement on social media read.

"The leak took place late yesterday evening (Tuesday, January 9) and has now stopped but waste is expected to remain in our coastal waters until 11am on Thursday (January 11).

"The pollution is believed to affect the whole of the Adur district coastline, including the River Adur, and potentially Worthing.

"We highly recommend that visitors to our coastline do not go into the water at this time and take care on the beach.”

The council said it will update the public ‘when we have more information’.

Southern Water has also issued a statement – explaining what caused the leak.

A spokesperson said: “Late on Tuesday (January 9), two pumps failed at our Shoreham Wastewater Treatment Works due to an electrical fault. This triggered the use of our emergency outfall, 500 metres out into Shoreham Harbour. Releases were screened but not fully treated.

"Our teams worked hard through the night to install a temporary pump, which is releasing flows further out to sea via our long sea outfall. We also we have four tankers transferring flows to a nearby treatment works.

"We are working with the Environment Agency and Adur District Council, and are carrying out investigations on environmental impact. We are very sorry that this is happening and are doing everything we can to fix the issue and minimise impact."