Lewis Huston is working on a £61m upgrade project at Bewl Water Treatment Works.
“We have a myriad of issues as a treatment works,” he says.
“It’s a complicated process, so doing good maintenance is something that just keeps everything running.”
In the main control room of the site a log book lists the daily faults at the site, including failing valves and problems with power.
“I wouldn’t say something goes wrong every day,” says Huston.
Huston says part of the upgrade words is replacing valves on machinery and putting in an “uninterruptible power supply”.
He has also helped work on the installation of two new pumps, which now pump drinking water to Cottage Hill reservoir in East Sussex, as part of trying to build resilience.
In the summer of 2023, that treated water reservoir ran critically low after a prolonged heatwave and thousands of people in the Wadhurst, Rotherfield and Mayfield area lost supply.
“It’s never nice waking up in the morning and seeing the company on the news,” he admits.
But he adds: “I quite like solving problems and issues and I want to be involved.”
