Crisis-hit water firm 'accelerating' works upgrade

A water company responsible for multiple supply failures in Kent and Sussex is "accelerating technical upgrades" to its treatment facilities, it has said.

South East Water (SEW) said engineering works and operational changes were under way after tens of thousands of its customers lost water, many for multiple days, in January.

Those incidents followed days of supply disruption to 24,000 properties in and around Tunbridge Wells before Christmas.

"We are committed to urgently reducing our risk of supply interruptions following unacceptable recent incidents and improving our response to incidents," SEW chief executive David Hinton said.

According to the water firm, an independent review of the November and December supply loss – during which residents were told to boil tap water before consuming it for up to nine days – would be shared with the government in April.

SEW announced that battery installations to mitigate power issues and fitting of more temporary storage tanks began in February.

Treatment facilities upgrades have also been brought forward, according to the firm.

SEW said it was "making changes to its operations" for future supply failures, including how it delivered alternative supplies and where bottles water stations were located.

The firm will also implement proposals from the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), generated from work with the group's customer panel.

"Customers now want to see the company deliver on these commitments and we will be holding it to account," CCW senior consumer panels lead Sue Clarke said.

Mike Martin, the MP for Tunbridge Wells, said SEW had listened to "repeated calls to bring forward urgent and targeted investment" but it was "hard to pass a substantiated judgement" without further details.

According to Hinton, SEW will deliver the changes in the next six months in parallel to a separate five-year investment plan.

SEW said the changes would take place "with the support of its shareholders", on top of work funded by customer bill rises.

"The cost will not be borne by customers", the firm said.

A spokesperson for regulator Ofwat said it did not currently have information on the detail of their plans, or the costs, but noted the company's announcement.

SEW was one of five companies to contest regulator Ofwat price controls, which had allowed it to increase an average annual bill from £232 to £274 by 2030.

The Competition and Markets Authority said in March that its final determination was that the company could increase bills by an extra 4%.

SEW faces a £22m Ofwat fine for supply disruptions between 2020 and 2023, which the regulator is consulting on, and an open regulatory investigation over further recent problems.

The Drinking Water Inspectorate is also investigating the company, which serves customers in Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire.

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