Southern Water · overflow SWS00496
Currently spilling
LAVANT
Southern Water has been discharging into the LAVANT for 11.1 h. The nearest water-quality test is 4561 m away with no recent observations on record.
📍 50.86392°, -0.77381°
Truth Engine flags· 3 open
- Dry-weather spill
“Spill occurred with effectively no rainfall in the preceding 24 h — storm overflows are not legally permitted to discharge in dry weather.”
☂ Only 0 mm rainfall in the 24 h before this spill started (recorded at Fishbourne, 4577 m away)
- Active spill
- Active spill · no recent test
no observations on record
Recent spill events· last 30 days
- 2026-05-06 22:49 UTCongoing · ongoing
Nearby water quality· 2 sampling points within 5 km
SO-F0017467 · SALINE WATER - ESTUARINE SITES - NON BATHING/SHELLFISH
FISHBOURNE STREAM - D/S OF FOOTBRIDGE
4.0 km away
No swimmer-relevant measurements available.
SO-WRPNTS20 · FRESHWATER - RIVERS
RIVER LAVANT AT WEST DEAN COLLEGE
4.6 km away
No swimmer-relevant measurements available.
Take action
The record above is verifiable from public Environment Agency and water-company data. Three official accountability channels — pre-filled with the evidence on this page.
Are you here right now?
If you can see foam, sewage debris, dead fish, or smell something wrong — submit a citizen report. Confirmed reports are added to the Truth Engine and strengthen the public record on this overflow.
📷 Report what you saw →1. Complain to Southern Water
The official complaints route. Most companies require submission through their web form rather than email — open the form, then paste the pre-filled letter.
Preview the letter
Subject: Complaint: storm overflow SWS00496 on the LAVANT Dear Southern Water, I am writing to formally raise a concern about storm overflow SWS00496, which public Environment Agency data shows currently discharging (11.1 h so far) into the LAVANT. Evidence: - Status: actively spilling for 11.1 h - Last 30 days: 1 spill events totalling 0 min - Cross-referenced flags from independent monitoring: 3 open Truth Engine discrepancies - Nearest Environment Agency water-quality sampling point: 4561 m away, with no recent observations on record - Location: 50.86392, -0.77381 - Source: Environment Agency National Storm Overflow Hub, OGL v3, cross-referenced via River Truth (https://rivertruth.uk/overflow/8858) [Add your personal context here — e.g. how you use this stretch of water and how this incident affects you.] Please respond with: 1. The cause of this discharge or monitor outage 2. The action being taken to resolve it 3. The expected timeline for resolution 4. What measures are in place to prevent recurrence I have copied the Environment Agency, Ofwat, and my MP into this correspondence where appropriate. Yours faithfully, [Your name] [Your address] [Your customer reference if you are a Southern Water customer]
2. Write to the MP for this stretch
This overflow sits in the Chichester constituency — currently represented by Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat). Click below to open WriteToThem with the letter copied to your clipboard — paste it into the message box.
Or write to your own MP instead
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Preview the letter
Subject: Constituent concern: Southern Water sewage discharge — overflow SWS00496 Dear [your MP — WriteToThem will fill this in], I am writing as your constituent to raise concern about ongoing sewage discharges from Southern Water in our area. A specific recent example is storm overflow SWS00496, which public Environment Agency data shows currently discharging (11.1 h so far) into the LAVANT. Evidence on the public record: - Status: actively spilling for 11.1 h - Last 30 days: 1 spill events totalling 0 min - Cross-referenced flags from independent monitoring: 3 open Truth Engine discrepancies - Nearest Environment Agency water-quality sampling point: 4561 m away, with no recent observations on record - Location: 50.86392, -0.77381 - Source: Environment Agency National Storm Overflow Hub, OGL v3, cross-referenced via River Truth (https://rivertruth.uk/overflow/8858) [Add your personal context here — e.g. how you use this stretch of water and how this incident affects you and your family.] I would like to ask: 1. Whether you support strengthening the regulatory regime for storm overflows and monitor coverage in particular 2. Whether you would raise this specific incident with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs or with Ofwat 3. What steps Parliament is taking to hold Southern Water accountable for the gap between shareholder distributions and the state of monitoring on the ground Yours sincerely, [Your name] [Your address — WriteToThem requires a postal address to verify constituency] Sources: Environment Agency National Storm Overflow Hub · Environment Agency WIMS Water Quality Archive · cross-referenced via River Truth (https://rivertruth.uk/overflow/8858)
MP details are looked up live from the UK Parliament Members API under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0. River Truth makes no claim about this MP's voting or advocacy record on water issues — they are shown solely as the elected representative for this constituency.
3. Report to the Environment Agency
For active pollution incidents — dead fish, foam, sewage on the riverbank — the EA hotline operates 24/7 and triggers a recorded investigation.