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Hastings Coast East Sussex

Hastings

We understand the disruption water incidents and supply interruptions have caused for customers and communities in Hastings. That’s why, over the next five years, we’re making major investments to strengthen the network, boost resilience, and help prevent future issues.

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Improvements across Hastings

We are investing in major network upgrades to strengthen the resilience of our water and wastewater services, ensuring reliable supplies and safeguarding homes, businesses, and the coastal environment.

Darwell Reservoir on a sunny day

Reducing supply issues

We've started a multi-million-pound programme to replace 9km of the Darwell-Beauport pipe to prevent bursts and maintain a more reliable supply of high-quality drinking water. Construction is expected to take around four years, with work set to continue until 2030.

Preventing flooding

We’ve invested £9.3m to upgrade Rock-a-Nore and Galley Hill pumping stations to prevent storm-related flooding. A new offshore outfall pipe at Glyne Gap and a refurbished outfall at Pelham will also reduce flooding by making sure the treated wastewater is returned safely to the environment. 

Understanding surface water

Our outfall awareness pilot in Bexhill helps explain to customers the purpose surface water outfalls and their locations around Hastings. With a better understanding of surface water, we can all do our bit to decrease the amount going down the drain and prevent flooding. 

A timeline of major Hastings projects

Winter 2025/26

Pelham Beach outfall refurbished and monitored daily and work on the new outfall at Glyne Gap starts. The Darwell to Beauport pipe project also kicks off. 

Spring 2026

Upgrades to Bexhill and Hastings storm overflows begin. This work has been brought forward from 2028 and is part of a larger programme of storm overflow upgrades and reduction work across 22 sites in East Sussex.

Summer 2026

£50,000 funding for Hastings Borough Council to support their Public Relam and Green Connections. We also continue our Hastings Bathing Water Improvement Plan.

2030

The upgrades to Hastings and Bexhill storm overflows finish and the Darwell to Beauport 9km pipeline is completed.

Improving bathing water quality

Hastings is a designated bathing water and currently holds a Good rating. We are continuing to invest in the area to protect and enhance this rating by cutting pollution and improving the resilience of the local wastewater network.

Our dedicated Clean Rivers and Seas Task Force is using nature based solutions to reduce the amount of surface water entering the network. This helps limit storm overflow releases and protects bathing waters, rivers, and other waterways across our region.

We have also created a Hastings Bathing Water Improvement Plan, one of several regional plans guiding our long term investment to support improvements in specific communities.

As part of our Hastings Bathing Water Improvement Plan, we’re:

  • reducing the impact of storm overflow releases
  • testing water quality year-round
  • inspecting, maintaining and upgrading our assets 
  • identifying and fixing misconnected pipes
  • lining sewers to prevent cross‑contamination
  • supporting third‑party projects through partnerships and funding 
  • working with local communities to reduce pollution from homes, businesses and surface water drainage. 
hastings beach
inflatable fun swimming lessons in Hastings
Play Community projects video

Community projects

Our community team will be out in the local area delivering a range of initiatives to support businesses and charities. Through our one million pound Goodwill Fund, we continue to provide financial support for those affected by previous supply interruptions. We are also inviting community clubs and groups to visit our Hastings Wastewater Treatment Works for our Beyond the Drain tours, offering a look at what happens on site. These tours are for people aged 18 and over.

We are maintaining regular conversations with residents near our Coombe Pumping Station project to gather feedback on the planned improvements, which include showcasing work from local artists. And in partnership with Hastings Borough Council and Freedom Leisure, we have launched a ten thousand pound pilot scheme that gives ten primary schools one thousand pounds each to support swimming lessons. The funding covers transport, pool hire and teaching costs, helping ensure pupils who might otherwise miss out get the chance to learn.

Your questions answered...

  • Sewer rehabilitation: We’ve carried out CCTV surveys and repairs across Bexhill, Hastings and St Leonards to make our sewer system more resilient.  
  • Illegal connections: We identified and corrected two properties that were connected to the wrong sewer, causing wastewater to leak onto the beach.
  • Outfall awareness pilot: We’ve introduced signs at surface water outfalls to help residents understand how they work and why they matter.
  • Sustainable drainage in schools: We’ve invested £80k to install sustainable drainage systems in schools to manage surface water and teach students about water resilience.  
  • Water butts: We’ve gifted slow-drain water butts to customers to help reduce surface water runoff from their roofs.
  • Community green spaces: We’re supporting Hastings Borough Council and East Sussex County Council on the Hastings Town Centre Public Realm Scheme, which aims to improve public spaces in the town centre and make the area more green, attractive, healthy and fun. 

We provide near real-time updates on all storm overflow releases in our region through Rivers and Seas Watch, our storm overflow monitoring service. Hosted on an interactive map, Rivers and Seas Watch shows storm overflow releases from every outfall in our region, along with their impact to bathing water quality. You can also sign up for email notifications on specific bathing waters and view historic release data in a filterable table.  

If you're struggling to pay your water bill, we offer a variety of support tariffs:  

  • Essentials – our Essentials tariff provides a discount of at least 45% if you’re on a low income or if everyone in your household receives pension credits.  
  • WaterSure – our WaterSure scheme helps by putting a limit on your charges for water and wastewater.  
  • Water Direct – our Water Direct tariff offers support if you’re claiming Income Support, Income-Based Job Seeker’s Allowance, Employer Support Allowance, Universal Credit or Pension Credit.  
  • NewStart – If you’ve struggled to pay your water bill and find yourself in debt, our NewStart tariff can help pay it off with a payment plan.  

Find out more about our support tariffs, if you’re eligible, and how to apply. 

We have a dedicated Hastings e newsletter for customers in the area. You’ll receive quarterly updates about the work we’re doing. Please make sure the email address on your Southern Water account is up to date.