Water customers demand action after £22m fine

A proposed multi-million-pound fine proposed by regulators on South East Water over supply issues send a "potent message" but improvements must still be seen, a customer says.

South East Water is facing a £22.46m fine from regulator Ofwat over issues which affected 286,000 customers in Kent and Sussex between 2020 and 2023. The fine does not cover more recent supply failures.

Campaigners say disruption has caused "utter chaos" and "people have had enough", while some of those affected say money from the fine should be invested into the industry.

A South East Water spokesperson said it would be seeking a judicial review of Ofwat's draft decision.

Deborah Park, from Frant, who faced issues in December 2025 and January of this year, said: "I think a fine is a very potent message to say 'you are getting this wrong, you are not complying with the regulations and need to do better'.

"Ofwat must be on their case and we must see some improvements," she said.

"That money needs to be invested into the industry."

Ofwat has ruled that South East Water's failures took a toll on its resilience - the scale of problems it can endure - and its response to supply problems between 2020 and 2023 was "slow and disorganised".

In Wadhurst, resident Fran Pass said: "It [the disruption] was a nightmare.

"I would rather they spent the money on repairs and getting the system up and running."

On the fine, Noah Reynolds said : "I think it is a good thing but I don't think it is enough.

"It really frustrates me."

Other residents in the East Sussex town says the water company "should have learned their lesson" and some are calling for the service to be nationalised.

Last December up to 24,000 homes went without water for almost a week, and were then subject to a boil notice for nine days after supplies returned to people's taps, while in January about 30,000 properties faced issues.

Ofwat has launched a new, separate investigation into these supply issues.

Sophie Conquest, of the campaign group We Own It, told BBC Radio Sussex: "It has been utter chaos and people have had enough.

"The speed this [the investigation] has taken is simply too long."

The fine proposed for South East Water equates to roughly 8% of its relevant annual turnover. Under current regulations, fines are capped at 10%.

Money from these fines ultimately goes to the Treasury.

A spokesperson for South East Water said : "We are now considering Ofwat's draft decision and will respond via the appropriate channels, ahead of its final decision. We have no further comment at this time."

The company also sought an injunction to the draft decision, which a court rejected.

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