Sewage spills reduced at Salcombe Regis

South West Water says it has cut storm overflow spills at Salcombe Regis Sewage Treatment Works in Devon after fixing drainage misconnections and increasing treatment capacity.

In 2024 the site’s storm overflow was operating daily. Investigations found that rainwater drainage, highway gullies and groundwater were entering the foul sewer network, increasing the amount of water the system had to handle.

Engineers relined sewers, sealed manholes and removed several misconnections. In August 2025 a new treatment unit was installed, tripling the site’s treatment capacity.

Between January and August 2025 the overflow spilled 213 times. After the upgrades were completed, spills dropped to 11 between September and December — a 94% reduction.

South West Water says work to remove remaining misconnections will continue through 2026 as part of a wider £760 million investment programme aimed at reducing storm overflow spills across the region.

Jenny Eamer, South West Water’s Operations Manager for Salcombe Regis, said: “When more water enters the system than the treatment works can handle, it causes the storm overflow to operate.

“That can happen during heavy rain, but here we also saw water entering the sewers through misconnections and groundwater infiltration.

“By increasing capacity and tackling those misconnections, we’ve been able to treat far more wastewater and cut the number of spills. It’s a great example of how focused improvements like this can make a real difference to communities and the environment.”