PRESSURE from residents, and county and parish councillors, has temporarily fended off a feared contamination threat to Bordon's water supply. They persuaded Hampshire County Council to postpone a decision on whether to allow Frith End sandpit operator Grundon's to dig deeper towards an underground aquifer supplying 30,000 homes in the town and surrounding villages. Grundon's had applied to a county council regulatory committee for permission to deepen the Frith End site to extract more soft sand, with a decision expected at a meeting last Wednesday. Before that date, the committee had received 27 letters of objection from the public, and objections from every parish council which could be affected. At the meeting, county councillors Adam Carew (representing Whitehill) and Mark Kemp-Gee (representing Alton Rural Division), and Kingsley Parish Council chairman Colin Neville, argued that the proposal would see sand extraction taking place below the water table, which could leave an aquifer feeding the Headley borehole dangerously exposed to pollution. The borehole provides water for homes in Bordon, Headley, Kingsley, Lindford and Dockenfield. Mr Neville put forward an alternative proposal to expand the sandpit outwards rather than downwards to reduce the risk of pollution to drinking water. He also addressed a second proposal from Grundon's to import several hundred thousand tonnes of inert waste over a two- year period to partially infill the pit at the end of its working life. Mr Neville argued that clay forming high ridges around the pit could be used as infill, thereby reducing lorry movements along the A325 and forming a gentler profile to the restored pit. His suggestions were supported by Liberal Democrat Mr Carew and Conservative Mr Kemp-Gee, whose suggestion to the committee to defer a decision until alternatives were investigated was eventually acted upon. After the meeting, Mr Carew said: "What impressed me was the sheer strength of local feeling. Local parish councils were united in their opposition to this application and local county councillors from opposing parties joined forces to raise local concerns." No one at Grundon's was available for comment at the time of going to press. Meanwhile, residents in Forest Road, Whitehill, have written to local water supplier South East Water complaining of a metallic taste and dark brown sediment in their tap water. One resident said he had been making similar complaints for the past four years. Norman Wilson said: "This has caused me a lot of anxiety. I fear for my family's health because the water is undrinkable and we have to filter it or buy bottled water. "My experience is that most people in the area have very low confidence in the quality of the drinking water that comes out of the tap and people should not be expected to have to drink dirty water during hot weather. "There is clearly something wrong with the water supply in our area." In a statement, South East Water said it was "carrying out additional work to further improve drinking water supplies in the area, which includes Bordon, Liphook, Liss, Fernhurst and small parts of Petersfield, Alton and Farnham". The company said it had installed new filters and extra treatment processes at its Greatham and Headley works, which serve the towns, to combat the "intermittent problem of discoloured water occurring for a small number of customers". From the autumn, the firm intends to carry out a programme of "flushing" to help prevent further discolouration. This will use water from the treatment works to flush out key parts of the distribution network to remove tiny deposits of naturally occurring elements, such as iron and manganese, from the water mains. These can build up and discolour water. The firm stressed the timing of the flushing work had been arranged to avoid excessive water use over the summer period, as resources remain low and restrictions are in force for South East Water customers. David Hinton, head of water quality, said: "It is important to stress the water supplied by South East Water continues to meet stringent water quality standards, and the small traces of these elements are not harmful to health."
