A massive water outage is affecting homes and schools (Image: Southern Water )
A huge water outage has struck nearly 60,000 homes and for schools and a hospital in Hampshire.
Homes in Southampton, Romsey, Eastleigh, Totton, and parts of the New Forest have experienced a loss of water or low pressure, and more than 30 schools will remain closed on Thursday.
Tankers were deployed on Wednesday to supply water for Southampton General Hospital.
Southern Water has said it has fixed the fault and hopes to restore all supplies to customers by the weekend, including bottled water stations in Marchwood, Eastleigh, and Totton.
The major disruption for customers comes as the regulator next year.
Southern has apologised for the “ongoing disruption” and said supplies could be restored on Thursday. However, the problem will not be fixed fully until the weekend.
A spokesperson said: “If these works proceed to our current plan, customers should start to see supplies restored during tomorrow, but some areas may take longer. We are working towards all customers being back in supply by the weekend.”
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Government steps in to demand water company take
The reports water minister Emma Hardy has met Southern Water’s chief executive Lawrence Gosden.
A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) spokesperson said.“Incidents like this are why we are forcing water companies to double the compensation provided to customers for supply issues.
“We are also carrying out a full review of the sector to shape further legislation that will transform how our water system works, increasing investment to upgrade crumbling infrastructure and strengthening regulation to better hold companies to account.”
Number to call if you have an urgent water issue
Southern Water said to call 0330 303 0368 if you, or a vulnerable loved one, may need urgent support
Local MP slams water firm for “chaotic” distribution of supplies to “most vulnerable”
Labour MP Satvir Kaur has slammed Southern Water for a “chaotic” roll out of water supplies and said she will be raising the “failures” directly with the company.
Writing on a post on X, she said: “We know Southern Water have badly let down people. I share your frustrations and am disappointed with how chaotic water distribution has been, especially to our most vulnerable.”
u2014 Satvir Kaur (@LabourSatvir)
Hospital hit with water shortage
A spokesperson for University Hospitals Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are working with Southern Water on contingency arrangements to ensure our hospitals continue to maintain water supplies.
“The Trust has stood up its business continuity incident plans as we manage our response.
“We ask patients to continue to attend appointments as planned but to allow extra time for their journey and in accessing parking facilities, due to the access requirements being put in place to enable delivery of those supplies.”
Southampton General Hospital (Image: PA )
Bottled water stations open
Three bottled water stations are open from for customers to collect supplies from 8am.
Staplewood Football Development Centre, Marchwood, Southampton SO40 4WR
Places Leisure Centre – Passfield Avenue, Eastleigh, SO50 9NL
ASDA, Maynard Road, Totton, Southampton, SO40 3ZA
Water bills set to soar over next five years – including 53% increase for Southern Water
Household water bills in England and Wales will increase by an average £31 a year over the next five years, regulator Ofwat has announced.
The increase is significantly higher than the expected average rise of around £20 a year per household, outlined in the regulator’s draft proposals in July.
Ofwat said the increase would pay for a £104 billion upgrade of the water sector to deliver “substantial, lasting, improvements for customers and the environment”.
However, despite the average £31 a year increase figure, households will face a heavy average hike of £86 or 20% in the next year, excluding inflation, with smaller percentage increases in each of the next four years.
The average bill will rise by a total of £157 or 36% over the next five years.
Some firms have been allowed significantly higher increases. Southern Water customers will face a 53% increase and Severn Trent households will see their bills rise by 47%, before inflation.
DWr Cymru and Hafren Dyfrdwy have both been allowed to charge 42% more, while Yorkshire Water bills will rise by 41%.
Thames Water is to be allowed to hike consumer bills by 35%, as the regulator also handed it an £18.2 million fine for paying “unjustified” dividends to shareholders.
The ruling falls well short of the 59% Thames Water had said it needed in the run-up to the decision, as the embattled water company tries to negotiate a bailout.
The company, which serves about 16 million people in London and the South East, is battling a funding crisis that could see it run out of cash by March.
Company statement in full
Southern Water said: “We continue to work hard to restore supplies to Southampton, Eastleigh, Romsey and the New Forest.
“Overnight our teams have fixed the problem at the Testwood Water Supply Works and restarted the site. We’re now filling up the reservoir again with drinking water, ready to restore supply.
“This is a gradual process which must be done carefully and safely, but customers will start to be reconnected later today.
“We are opening bottled water stations today across the region and we will update on their locations and opening times from 8am. This is to make sure they have supplies and are ready to help you.
“We completed the first round of our bottled water deliveries to care homes and customers on our Priority Services Register overnight. We are planning to restart our second round of deliveries later today. If you need to be added to our Priority Service Register, please call 0330 303 0368.
“We are so sorry for the disruption this has caused you.”
Locals say some have only a litre of water left for the night
Jill Woolger, 66, from Dibden Purlieu near the New Forest, has been without water since Wednesday morning and said she only had around a litre of bottled water left to last her for the evening.
The retired nurse, who lives with an autoimmune condition, is registered on the firm’s priority list and was told she could expect bottled water to be delivered to her home by 7pm, but claims she did not receive any.
She said: “I think what I’m so fed up about is that I’m on the priority service, but I haven’t had any water.”
Ms Woolger lives with ulcerative colitis, which is an inflammatory bowel disease that can cause ulcers, and psoriatic arthritis, and said her autoimmune conditions can make her “more prone to infections”.
She added that having water to keep her house clean is vital to avoid impacting her bowel movements.
She claimed water issues in her area seemed to be a recurrent problem after being hit with outages three times in two years, and criticised Southern Water for not offering better support to customers on the priority list.