Pluckley pipe project hits new milestone

A vital project to protect the Pluckley community from disruptive burst water pipes has soared beyond the halfway mark.

South East Water has now installed more than 800 metres of brand-new water main in Smarden Road. It is anticipated a further 300 metres will be installed by the end of today (18 March).

The £700,000 project, which will see more than 1.2 kilometres of pipe installed in total, comes after the existing pipe burst 18 times during the last five years causing disruption to the local community.

Jeremy Dufour, South East Water Project Manager, said: “I’m really pleased with the progress our team has made so far.

“This is a very complex project due to its location and we’re really grateful to the local community who have worked with us to ensure things run as smoothly as possible.

“We have been able to switch up our pipe-laying techniques and successfully drilled sections of pipe underground. This process involves digging two holes and threading the pipe between them and is much faster than the traditional methods – although it is not always possible for safety reasons.

“The remainder of the pipe will be installed using more traditional methods, cutting out sections of the road and inserting one piece of new pipe in at a time. The rate of installation is slower but we’re still on course to complete the project in July 2022.”

To keep the community safe, South East Water has closed Smarden Road to passing traffic.

The road closure is still in force and will remain for the remainder of the project and a diversion route is clearly signed. Businesses in the village remain open as usual.

Jeremy continued: “We’re really sorry for any disruption caused by the road closure – which we know can be inconvenient to both residents and passing motorists.

“We’ll continue to work closely with the community and local businesses to make the remainder of this project as least impactful as possible.”

The project forms part of South East Water’s pledge to invest more than £433 million into improving its water network between 2020 and 2025.

For more information on the vital project, visit: southeastwater.co.uk/pluckley