By Chris Cornford
large sinkhole, which has appeared after a sewer collapse near Appley seafront, will take weeks to repair.
The hole first appeared around a week ago and quickly started to grow. The area has now been cordoned off while Southern Water deal with the problem and people have been warned to stay away from it.
Southern Water Area Manager, Keith Herbert, confirmed: “We have been working hard on a collapsed sewer near Appley seafront since Monday, January 25.
“The one-metre-wide sewer pipe carries all of Ryde’s wastewater and storm water, so tankers and temporary pumps have been drafted in to maintain flow. These are critical to helping us to maintain wastewater services and ensure local residents and businesses can continue to use all kitchen and bathroom facilities as normal.
“Due to the depth and complex nature of the required repair of the sewer and resulting surrounding hole, which will take several weeks, a more permanent solution is our next priority. A pipe is being laid to divert flow around the affected area so that we can stand down all tankers and pumps.
“This will start on Monday (February 1) and will sit along the beach wall so that it is out of the way of work in the main area. The popular footpath will remain open.
“We recognise the disruption this has caused locally and apologise to those affected. We wish to reassure customers that we are working to rectify the issue as quickly as possible and thank them for their patience and for giving our frontline workers the safe distance they need to carry out their work safely.”
Updates on the repairs can be checked on Southern Water’s Twitter or Facebook accounts.
Press Release