Southern Water Faces Backlash After Hampshire Water Outage and Rising Bills

A major water supply failure left 58,000 households without water for days, prompting a £9.7 million compensation pledge and scrutiny over the company’s infrastructure and management.

• A fault at the Testwood Water Supply Works caused a two-day water outage affecting 58,000 households, businesses, and critical infrastructure in Hampshire, including hospitals and schools.
• Southern Water has pledged £9.7 million in compensation for affected residents and announced plans to invest £250 million to modernize the ageing Testwood site by 2031.
• The outage occurred during planned upgrade works, and the company admitted to failures in providing sufficient bottled water stations and supporting vulnerable residents on its priority register.
• The disruption coincided with news that Southern Water customers will face the highest water bill increases in the country, with average bills set to rise by £86 from April 2025.
• Southern Water’s leadership, including CEO Lawrence Gosden, has faced criticism over mismanagement, infrastructure failures, and executive bonuses amidst customer dissatisfaction.

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