Southern Water under fire again after second incident in two months

Southern Water has again been accused of failing its customers after a fault at the company's Otterbourne site disrupted supplies to Winchester and large parts of the Southampton area.

About 13,000 properties have been affected by the issue, which began after it emerged that untreated water was not being filtered properly.

Householders have reacted angrily after being warned that supply problems could continue until the weekend.

Southern Water customers collect supplies from a bottled water station at Cantell School in Southampton (Image: Newsquest.)

Southern Water has provided three bottled water stations but the first, at the Ageas Bowl, did not open until 8am yesterday - more than 12 hours after the problem began.

The other two, at Places Leisure in Eastleigh and Cantell School in Southampton, opened later in the day.

It comes after thousands of homes and businesses in Southampton and neighbouring areas were left without water for several days in the run-up to Christmas.

READ MORE: Southern Water fined £90m for dumping raw sewage in rivers and coastal waters

Southern Water blamed burst pipes caused by sudden changes in temperature that occurred after days of sub-zero weather was followed by a thaw.

The company initially said the latest issue was sparked by a "failure" at its Otterbourne water supply plant on Wednesday.

In a subsequent update, it added: "During planned maintenance at Otterbourne our systems detected that untreated water was not being filtered correctly.

"Our systems are designed to automatically shut down to avoid any risk to water supplies should this situation arise.

Southern Water has blamed the previous shutdown in December of leaks caused by burst pipes (Image: PA)

"Work has been under way since [Wednesday] evening to safely contain, drain, clean, disinfect and refill the part of the system affected.

"Once the system is refilled, we will undertake extensive water quality testing before putting water back into supply.

"We would never take risks on the quality of the water that we provide and it’s important that we carry out this process in the correct way. This is why it's taking time."

READ MORE: Southern Water set to increase household bills

The company released the statement after hours of fierce criticism.

Satvir Kaur, leader of Southampton City Council, told the Daily Echo: "It's bitterly disappointing that Southern Water are failing local residents again.

"If it's not dumping sewage in our waters it's failing to provide clean water that individuals and families rely on. People are rightly frustrated and have had enough."

Southampton Test MP Alan Whitehead says Southern Water must do much better (Image: Newsquest)

Alan Whitehead, Labour MP for Southampton Test, also referred to the supply problems that caused misery in December.

He said: "It's concerning that this is the second incident of its type to happen in a matter of months, with yet again a huge negative impact on the people of Southampton."

Sam Newman, one of the people who collected bottled water from Cantell School, added: "I had no water at home and went to work thinking it would be alright there, but they didn’t have any either.

"When this happened last year I had water delivered to my building, but I don’t seem to have that option today."

Another customer, who asked not to be named, said: "It’s affected everything. We couldn’t make a cup of coffee this morning. We can’t wash. We can’t clean our teeth."

Winchester MP Steve Brine has told Southern Water that customers are hugely unimpressed by the latest supply problem (Image: PA)

Steve Brine, Conservative MP for Winchester, has told Southern Water that customers are "hugely unimpressed" after being hit by two supply failures within two months.

As the scale of the problem began to emerge yesterday Romsey and Southampton North MP Caroline Nokes offered to deliver bottled water to vulnerable residents.

She said: "I can't believe I'm having to do this again."

Many people took to social media to voice their anger and disbelief after their taps had run dry for the second time in weeks.

One person posted: "What's going to be done to hold Southern Water accountable for the appalling way they are treating their customers? Twice in seven weeks is unacceptable.

"I have children at home in nappies with no access to water. How does this happen in 2023?"

Another added: "This is beyond a joke. Last time I was collecting water for five homes as you 'didn't have availability' to help vulnerable people."

Romsey and Southampton North MP has offered to deliver bottled water to vulnerable residents (Image: PA)

Countless other customers also used social media to criticise the company's performance.

One said: "This is the second time we've had no water in less than two months. Sorry is not good enough. You need to get your act together."

Ofwat, which regulates the industry, said Southern Water "must do everything it can" to restore supplies.

"We expect the company to provide regular updates, protect people in vulnerable situations and have information readily available for all those affected," it said. "We are monitoring the situation and Southern Water’s response."

Royston Smith, Conservative MP for Southampton Itchen, urged the company to pay compensation to the people affected.

He added: "This latest disruption of service, coming so soon after the freezing and thawing incidents, and the summer hose pipe ban, puts Southern Water in quite a poor light."