Southern Water outage hits thousands of homes around Southampton and New Forest

Summary

Water supplies are still being disrupted in and around Southampton and south Hampshire impacting more than 58,000 properties
Southern Water said it had fixed the fault and that supplies were beginning to return to customers
The company has set up bottled water stations in Marchwood, Eastleigh and Totton
Southampton Test MP Satvir Kaur said some residents had not received water they had been promised
Disruption comes as Ofwat announce the average water bill will rise by an average of £86 next year
More than 20 schools have been closed again on Thursday as a result
Southern Water said the problem was affecting large parts of Southampton, Chandler's Ford, Romsey, Totton, Waterside and the New Forest
The firm said the water supplies would begin to return to normal by Thursday
Southampton General Hospital is affected by the lack of water
Southern Water said to call 0330 303 0368 if you or a vulnerable loved one, may need urgent support

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BBC South Today reporter Edward Sault reports on a day of disruption

Live Reporting

By Marcus White, Nathan Briant, Sue Paz and Michael Stoddard

'Mayhem' at water stationpublished at 08:41 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December
Emily Hudson
Hampshire & Isle of Wight political reporter
BBC reporter Emily Hudson said she was left “stunned” by the “mayhem” in the Asda car park in Totton as people queued for water.
She told BBC Radio Solent: “I have had to try to intervene because there have been people who have queued on foot with a trolley and weren’t told this is a drive through pick up.
“I was walking along the queue going, 'By the way, when I have done these things before you have to be in your car to drive through', and nobody was telling them that.’”
The water station opened shortly after 08:00 but Emily said no-one had been told that Southern Water expected supplies to return later.
“There has been no kind of announcement via loudhailer, which would seem a sensible thing to do when you have 150 people in a queue, who might go, ‘You know what? We can manage until this afternoon'.”
Southern Water 'very sorry' for disruptionpublished at 08:20 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December
Tim McMahon, Southern Water's managing director, said the company was "very sorry" for the disruption.
He said the firm was now filling up its storage reservoir with drinking water and households would start to be reconnected later today.
"Some customers may experience low pressure or discoloration when the water supply is restored - this is normal as water returns," he said.
The company completed a first round of bottled water deliveries to care homes and customers on its priority services register overnight, Mr McMahon continued.
"We will publish updates throughout today as services are restored, and take this opportunity to apologise once again to customers who lost supply in this incident."
Customers angry on social mediapublished at 08:12 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December
Southern Water customers have been reacting angrily to the disruption to supplies.
Mandi wrote on the BBC Hampshire Facebook, external page: "Schools closed, so loss of education, and parents having to take time off work this side of Christmas. Absolutely diabolical. Southern Water have a lot to answer for."
Claire added: "I have an elderly mother and a brother with learning disabilities who are both on the priority list but have had no delivery. Luckily I have a friend who was able to help them out whilst I got water for my own family. The impact of this has been far reaching. I can’t believe it can be like this in 2024!"
Water bills to rise over next five yearspublished at 08:06 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December
More now on the news that our water bills are set to increase.
Southern Water customers who have been affected by the disruption to their supplies today will be hit by the biggest increase, with bills going up 53% - £642 on average - by 2030.
David Black, Ofwat chief executive, said the regulator was "acutely aware of the impact that bill increases will have for some customers", adding that water firms now needed to "rise to the challenge" of making a "significant improvement over time to justify the increase in bills".
It comes amid public anger over sewage discharges into waterways and a continuing squeeze on household finances.
The regulator said the bill increases would pay for £104bn upgrade for the sector.
Image source, Southern Water
Customers react to water disruptionpublished at 08:00 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December
There were reports of long queues to collect water at a bottled water station in Eastleigh on Wednesday evening. These customers told BBC South about their frustrations.
Media caption,
Water customers queue for supplies
Bottled water stations to openpublished at 08:00 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December
Southern Water has just announced it has three bottled water stations open from 08:00 GMT for customers to collect supplies. The locations are:
- Staplewood Football Development Centre, Marchwood, Southampton SO40 4WR
- Places Leisure Centre – Passfield Avenue, Eastleigh, SO50 9NL
- ASDA, Maynard Road, Totton, Southampton, SO40 3ZA
Queue at predicted emergency bottled water stationpublished at 07:52 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December
Southern Water have yet to officially announce the location of the emergency bottled water stations but our reporter Emily Hudson, who is in the Asda car park in Totton, Hampshire, reports that queues of people are already gathering to collect supplies.
Hampshire school closurespublished at 07:37 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December
There are now more than 20 schools closed in Hampshire because of the disruption to water supplies.
You can find a full list here., external
School closures in Southamptonpublished at 07:35 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December
The loss of water has led to some schools closing their doors today.
There are currently nine schools in Southampton affected, external with children missing out on end of term Christmas activities.
- Upper Shirley High School
- Shirley Warren LC Primary and Nursery School
- Hollybrook Junior School
- Hollybrook Infant School
- Compass School
- The Cedar School
- Fairisle Infant and Nursery School
- Sinclair Primary and Nursery School
- Fairisle Junior School
Are you affected?published at 07:29 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December
Have you been affected by the water supply problems?
Would you be happy to speak to a BBC journalist.
You can get in touch in the following ways:
Email: south.today@bbc.co.uk
WhatsApp: +44 7756 165803
X: @bbchampshire
And you can leave a comment on our Facebook page., external
Water bills to rise by £31 per year over next five yearspublished at 07:22 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December
Today's water supply problems come as it's announced water bills are set to rise by an average of £31 per year over five years from April.
Ofwat said the increase was enough for water companies in England and Wales to pay for upgrades and reduce sewage discharges.
The increase is higher than the £19 per year Ofwat previously proposed, but is lower than what water companies had requested.
It comes amid public anger over sewage discharges into waterways and a continuing squeeze on household finances.
Image source, Getty Images
No news on bottled water suppliespublished at 07:09 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December
Southern Water has not revealed the locations or times that bottled water stations will be open.
In a post on the company website it said: "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."
On Wednesday three sites were providing bottled water with reports of long queues.
Southern Water added that it has delivered bottled water to care homes and customers on the Priority Services Register overnight. If you need to be added to our Priority Service Register you can call 0330 303 0368.
Update from Southern Waterpublished at 07:07 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December
Southern Water say their teams have worked overnight and the good news is that the company has fixed the problem at the Testwood Water Supply Works and restarted the site.
It added that the reservoir is being refilled with drinking water, ready to restore supply. But the company warns it is "a gradual process which must be done carefully and safely, but customers will start to be reconnected later today".
Outage likely to be until weekendpublished at 06:56 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December
In an interview with BBC South on Wednesday evening, Stephanie Davidovitz from Southern Water said it could be the weekend before supplies were fully restored.
You can read our full story here.
Media caption,
About 58,000 properties across Hampshire are without water on Wednesday
Update due from Southern Waterpublished at 06:53 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December
We're excepting an update on the latest from Southern Water at about 07:00 GMT. The company has been posting regular updates on its website, external and social media.
Details of bottled water stations are also due to be announced after long queues formed yesterday evening.
Southern Water disruption continuespublished at 06:42 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the disruption being caused by the water shortages following problems at Southern Water following a fault at a supply works.
About 58,000 properties across Hampshire are without water.
The problem, which started on Wednesday morning, has hit large parts of Southampton, Chandler's Ford, Romsey, Totton, Waterside and the New Forest.
Are you affected?published at 00:32 Greenwich Mean Time 19 December
Have you been affected by the water outage?
Would you be happy to speak to a BBC journalist.You can get in touch in the following ways:
Email: haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk
WhatsApp: +44 7756 165803
Tweet: @BBC_HaveYourSay
That's all for tonightpublished at 22:24 Greenwich Mean Time 18 December
Thanks for reading. We are pausing the live page for this evening, but our coverage of Hampshire's water outages will resume from 06:00 tomorrow.
Bottled water station closespublished at 21:18 Greenwich Mean Time 18 December
Southern Water has posted on X, external that the bottled water station at Staplewood Football Development Centre, SO40 4WR, has closed while the firm waits for it to be resupplied.
Water outage sitution 'pretty chaotic'published at 20:37 Greenwich Mean Time 18 December
We have spoken to residents who have been affected by the outage outside the Asda in Totton.
Stewart and Julie Tough live on the outskirts of the town, and said they had been checking up on their elderly neighbours.
Mr Tough said the situation was "pretty chaotic" and added: "Communication has mostly come through social media."
"We’ve come here to try and buy stuff, but there’s not much left even for anybody," Mrs Tough said.
"So we’re taking a bit home for our neighbours as well."
Image caption,
Bottled water shelves in the Asda in Totton were almost empty
Kirsty Philps said she had also lost the water supply to her home.
She said: "Obviously I haven’t been able to have a drink, I had to go to Tescos to get some water earlier, and haven’t been able to have my son tonight.
"So it’s been pretty rubbish really."