BRADING SEWER REPAIRS STILL NOT COMPLETED MORE THAN A MONTH AFTER FAILURE

A busy road connecting the outskirts of Ryde to Brading remains closed this week as Southern Water continues efforts to repair a failed sewer pipe. West Lane, which runs between Ashey and Brading, has been closed for more than a month after it was discovered that a major sewer main had failed in a field just off the carriageway. Since 16th February, Southern Water engineers have been working to resolve the situation. However, continuing poor weather has hampered efforts to fix the pipe. It was hoped that the main would be replaced by 1st March, with delays pushing the timetable back to last Thursday – but those plans failed to materialise. Southern Water now says that the repair will take place this coming Thursday, nearly 5 weeks after the pipe failed. It’s thought that the main pumping station at Appley in Ryde will be shut off to stop the flow of sewage to Sandown, with the whole of Ryde’s and Seaview’s waste going into large holding tanks instead. Once the pipe is fixed the taps will be turned back on allowing the waste to continue its journey to the treatment plant in Sandown.