Customers Failed Over Outages, Water Boss Tells MPs

A water utility executive confessed to parliamentary committee members that their organization “fell short” in serving customers during winter supply disruptions. Over two months, tens of thousands of households in Kent and Sussex experienced water cuts or low pressure, with 24,000 properties affected in November and December alone. Just weeks later, an additional 30,000 homes faced further issues, according to the testimony.

Chris Train, chairman of South East Water (SEW), admitted during Tuesday’s session that the company “could have done better” and failed to meet its core duty of providing water. “It is absolutely untenable for customers to be without water,” he emphasized. The committee scrutinized the company’s performance, with Train stating the board supports CEO David Hinton despite criticism.

“If the board thinks that Dave Hinton is the best person for the job, then they too are failing in their job,” said Tunbridge Wells MP Mike Martin.

SEW’s chief executive, David Hinton, who earns £400,000 annually and received a £115,000 bonus last year, acknowledged communication lapses. He admitted delays in detecting problems at a treatment plant in November, which left several towns without water for nearly two weeks. “If we had spotted it earlier, we would have resolved it,” he noted.

Following the outages, SEW established a £600,000 compensation fund for impacted businesses. However, Alistair Carmichael, chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (Efra), called the sum “insufficient.” Residents described the January disruption, blamed on Storm Goretti and power failures, as “like Armageddon.” Some schools were forced to shut due to the crisis.

Dr. Mike Keil, CEO of the Consumer Council for Water, shared findings from a survey revealing 54% of SEW customers now stock bottled water for emergencies. Nearly a fifth rely solely on bottled water after a previous boil notice. The company also announced a 7% increase in bills starting April, raising the average yearly cost to £324 for 2026/27.

Ofwat proposed a £22m fine in March for disruptions affecting 286,000 people between 2020 and 2023. This penalty, the second-largest ever issued, does not account for recent failures. The regulator is also reviewing whether SEW breached its licence conditions. “Only time will tell if those are sufficient,” said Ofwat’s chief executive, Chris Walters, during the committee hearing.

SEW, owned by investment and pension funds led by the Utilities Trust of Australia, reported £1.3bn in debt in its latest annual report. Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds condemned the supply problems as “completely unacceptable,” highlighting their impact on both homes and businesses.