A £730,000 investment in East Devon is set to benefit the region as work starts on two new boreholes that South West Water is installing at Sidford Water Pumping Station, which will supply 8,000 customers in East Devon with drinking water.
South West Water currently operates 32 boreholes across the region, most of which are in East Devon. The last borehole was drilled in 2011, before which it was the early 1990s. The new borehole will replace a borehole in the Otter Valley, which is more than a century old.
The smaller of the two boreholes will act as a monitoring point for the main borehole, and work is set to begin on it on 23 January 2017, using a 14-metre drilling rig. This monitoring borehole will be about 120 metres deep with an internal diameter of 15cm and it will take about a week to drill; this will be followed by a twenty-one day testing period.
Construction on the larger borehole will begin on 23 February 2017, and it will be approximately 120 metres deep but with an internal diameter of 30cm and will take approximately eight weeks to complete.
Chris Rockey, Head of Drinking Water Quality, explained: “Delivering a clean, safe and reliable supply of drinking water to our customers is our top priority.â€
Chris added: “All the work is taking place within the boundary of the pumping station site. We have written to our neighbours and we will do our best to minimise any impact during the construction work. Once the borehole is operational, water from it will be treated with ultraviolet disinfection on site and supplied to customers on the coast of East Devon via the existing water pumping station.”
The new borehole will supply around two million litres (megalitres) of water per day, which will be sufficient to supply 8,000 customers in the coastal towns east of Sidmouth.
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