South East Water under investigation over supply failures

South East Water, which blamed increased working from home in the south-east of England for a hosepipe ban, is to be investigated by the industry watchdog over possible failures in maintaining the supply to households.

Ofwat, the industry regulator, is to study the actions of South East Water – the worst performer for supply interruptions in England and Wales since 2020.

Customers of the water company experienced outages of more than three hours for each property on average during the 2022-23 financial year, compared with its agreed target of five minutes and 45 seconds.

The company was criticised after blaming the rise of remote working in commuter towns for a hosepipe ban in June. Its chief executive, David Hinton, said people working from home were a “key factor” behind the ban, as it has “increased drinking water demand”.

In the same month, some areas served by South East Water were left with little or no water, forcing schools to shut and residents to fetch drinking water from bottle stations.

Ofwat said it is looking at whether the supplier of homes in Surrey, Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire has failed to develop and maintain an efficient water supply system. The regulator has met the company’s chair and chief executive to discuss its performance.

David Black, the chief executive of Ofwat, said: “Providing reliable water supplies is at the heart of a water company’s responsibilities.

“Too many customers have been failed too often by South East Water. That’s why we are now carrying out a thorough investigation into the company and its service to customers.

“We are clear that water companies must do more to regain public trust and it must start with better service.

“Where this does not happen, we will use all of our powers to ensure the sector delivers better value for both customers and the environment.”

The Drinking Water Inspectorate last month told South East Water that it is considering taking enforcement action to secure improvements to its supply system and ability to respond to incidents. Ofwat said it would be “working closely with the DWI to secure compliance in a way that addresses both our concerns”.

The water industry is in the crosshairs of MPs and the public over everything from sewage dumping and water leakage to financial engineering and executive pay.

Earlier this year, analysis by the University of Greenwich showed South East Water spent £232m on distributing dividends and paying interest on its debts in the two years to March 2022.

A spokesperson for South East Water said “resilience forms a major focus” for the company, and added “we intend to fully cooperate with Ofwat on this matter”.