SOUTHEND’S sewer systems are being flushed with a £17million of investment, in a bid to clear blockages and cut sewage being dumped into the sea.

Anglian Water is installing 22,000 monitors in the sewers to find blockages quicker and the company is also planning to educate families about what to flush down the toilet and put down the sink.

It comes after various concerns and incidents about sewage overflowing into the sea in Southend.

Earlier this month, Anglian Water has confirmed outfalls on Three Shells Beach, Jubilee Beach, Leigh Bell Wharf, Chalkwell Beach and Thorpe Bay pumped sewage into the sea on March 8.

Anglian Water chief executive Peter Simpson will be visiting Southend’s beaches on March 31.

Mr Simpson will meet environmental campaigners from Southend Against Sewage, Environment Agency representatives and Southend West MP Anna Firth.

Carole Mulroney, Lib Dem councillor responsible for the environment, said: “I hope they get on with it and make the changes needed.

“We do need education for people who are in doubt and what to flash down the toilet and pour down the sink.

“It’s imperative, it’s not good improving the infrastructure if people are still going to do the wrong things.

“I think there are still people who are in doubt about it. I think education and standardisation in instructions are very important. Any improvements are welcome.”

The technology helps to detect problems and troublesome blockages within sewer pipes, meaning they can be found and fixed sooner, ultimately protecting the wider environment.

The system works by using weather forecasts and hundreds of sensors to pre-empt when the network may not be operating at its full capacity, usually indicating a blockage is forming. Anglian Water engineers are then alerted and can proactively clean and jet the sewer before any problems occur.

Head of water recycling networks for Anglian Water, Claire Moore said: “Eighty per cent of flooding and pollution incidents are caused by blocked sewers.

"The main causes of the blockages are waste such as fat, wipes and sanitary products which have been wrongly tipped down the sink or flushed down toilet instead of being put in the bin.

"We have been working hard for many years to campaign for wipes and other ‘unflushables’ to be put in the bin and not down the toilet. And we support MP Fleur Anderson’s private member’s bill which aims to ban the manufacture of plastic in wet wipes, so that if they do unfortunately find their way into the sewers and into the environment they will at least not contain plastic and will break down more easily.“