WATER EXPERTS worked through the night to ensure potentially catastrophic water pollution that would have left thousands of homes with rationed water for months was prevented.

They were called in after about 150 drums of unknown chemicals and paints were dumped in three heaps on a track between fields.

Drums in one of the heaps were leaking and there were fears the chemicals could soak into the ground and pollute underground reservoirs known as aquifers that supply drinking water to thousands of homes through Hampshire and West Sussex from the River Meon in the west to the River Arun in the east.

Ian Limb of Portsmouth Water said that if that had happened it was likely a couple of pumping stations that supply domestic drinking water could have been shut down for anything up to a couple of months.

He added: “We would then have had to move water into the area from elsewhere, which could have meant shortages.

“And because of the very real potential environmental impact we had to move quickly when we were alerted to the spillage.

“There was paint and thinners in some drums we believe, but a lot of them appear to have been emptied of their original contents and then refilled with we don’t know what chemicals.”

The drums were initially reported to East Hampshire District Council on Friday, October 25.

A council spokesman said: “There were three tips. One had 60 or 70 barrels, another around 50 and another around ten, and their contents hasn’t been identified yet.”

The council notified Portsmouth Water, which supplies 169 million litres of water a day from springs and boreholes.

Some comes from springs at Bedhampton, and the rest from across the area supplied with water, which covers 868 square kilometres.

The Havant-based water company immediately sent a specialist environmental team to the tip site.

Working through the night under floodlights, the six-strong team sealed the drums to make them safe and took them away for proper disposal.

They then spread granules over the spillage and surrounding ground which soaked up the poisonous liquids.

The next day the contaminated topsoil was dug up, bagged up and taken away, again for safe disposal.

People were advised to stay away from the dump site off Coldhill Lane and Crouch Lane between Catherington and Clanfield for 48 hours.

An investigation is now underway to identify the liquids and to try and discover who was behind the illegal chemical dumping.

A council spokesman said: “We would like to identify who did this.”

Mr Limb added: “This could have had a severe environmental impact.”