§ Captain Kerbyasked the Postmaster-General if he is aware that nearly 1 million gallons of water had to be pumped from the new Rustington telephone exchange, now under construction, during the last week, and that this flooding is not due solely to recent inclement weather; and what steps he is taking to ensure that this new exchange will not become flooded annually owing to ordinary rainfall and the nature of the site.
§ Mr. BevinsYes, I am aware of the serious flooding on the Rustington exchange site, both in the course of building operations and more recently as the result of the heavy rains. Special steps have been taken to seal off the underground springs which caused the earlier flooding. The more recent trouble occurred in the unfinished cable chamber which acted as a sump for surface water which had accumulated over a considerable area around. I am advised—and this is certainly my hope—that when the building is completed there should be no recurrence of the trouble.