Repairs to storm-damaged sewer pipe to take weeks

Repairs to a sewer overflow pipe which was damaged during stormy weather are set to take several weeks to complete.

Guernsey Water said engineers from Geomarine had started fixing the outfall at La Piette after several storms during the winter caused "significant damage".

The utility firm said the force of the storms led to granite stones which protected the pipe becoming dislodged, steel covers being torn from their hinges and debris entering the system.

The structure is a combined sewer overflow which acts as a safety valve within the drainage system to allow excessive flows of rain and wastewater to be released during periods of heavy rainfall, Guernsey Water said.

The company added the work had been timed to coincide with "particularly low tides" to allow Geomarine to access the pipe each day over several weeks.

Jon Holt, Guernsey Water's operations manager, said: "The recent storms caused damage and resulted in the outfall potentially being unable to operate as intended, so it's important that we carry out these repairs now in the summer months before the winter storms return."

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