Councillors Tour Water Main Replacement Site

Pic: L-R Cllr Hampshire and Cllr Baldock speaking to Jeremy Dufour, Engineering Project Manager

Swale Borough Council members were treated to a tour of South East Water's water main replacement site in Borden last week.

Borden and Grove Park ward councillors Nicholas Hampshire and Mike Baldock met engineers replacing more than a mile of burst-prone water mains in the village. The old cast iron pipes in Pond Farm Road and Wises Lane, laid in the 1950s, are being replaced with flexible plastic pipes with a lifespan of more than 70 years. To date, water workers have replaced almost 85 per cent of the pipework with just 300 metres of pipe laying remaining in Wises Lane.

Pond Farm Road and Wises Lane have been closed in sections during the work, which began in January and work is due to finish by the end of June although residents will be able to access the road for local elections on 2 May and the Sittingbourne 10k running race on 19 May.

Jeremy Dufour, Project Manager at South East Water, told SFM News: "I would like to thank Councillor Hampshire and Councillor Baldock for taking the time to visit the site of our £520,000 water main replacement project in Borden. The team on site have made excellent progress, with more than 1.5 kilometres of water main laid and already in use, supplying villagers with top quality crystal-clear tap water. As we reach the final stages of our project, I would encourage residents to visit our website corporate.southeastwater.co.uk/Borden for further information and regular progress updates."

Councillor Mike Baldock, member of Borden Parish Council and Swale Borough Council, told SFM News: "Many of my constituents were understandably concerned about this project after various other utility companies have carried out work in the village in the past. I am really pleased to say that this project has been handled well, with excellent communications and a ready response to any queries that arose."

This work forms part of a £424 million investment by South East Water between 2015 and 2020.