Southern Water customers face water supply issues for days

The bottled water station at the Ageas Bowl, in West End opened on Thursday morning

Residents are set to face disruption to their water supply for the next two days "at least".

Southern Water said 15,000 households in Winchester and Southampton woke up to low water pressure or loss of supply on Thursday.

The company said it worked through the night to solve the issue but it would take 48 hours to return services.

In an update, the firm said re-routing water networks meant 7,000 households should have water back by the evening.

It said the problem was due to a failure at its site in Otterbourne, where during planned maintenance its systems detected untreated water was not being filtered correctly and automatically shut down.

The firm apologised and said its crews were working to contain, drain, clean, disinfect and refill the part of the system affected. 

It added: "Unfortunately, it's likely that if you are currently without water, this will continue until at least the weekend."

The issue comes as more than 20,000 properties in Southampton, Eastleigh, Hedge End and Chandler's Ford were left with low pressure or loss of supply for a few days before Christmas last year.

At the time Southern Water blamed leaks caused by changes in temperature and heavy rainfall.

But on Thursday it said the latest issue was "completely different".

'A disgrace'

Several residents took to social media to voice their disappointment, with one branding the company an "utter disgrace".

Another customer said: "Again, what is wrong with Southern Water. Get your act together."

Tom Patchell, from Chandler's Ford, said he felt "pretty angry". He said he started getting low water pressure on Wednesday night and woke up to no water on Thursday.

Bassett resident Cheryl MacDonalds added: "It's a nightmare because it is the second time in two and a half months we had no water."

Ms MacDonalds was one of the first residents to collect bottled water in West End

The MP for Romsey and Southampton North Caroline Nokes, who criticised the company last December, said Southern Water failed residents "yet again".

A bottled water station opened at the Ageas Bowl, in West End at 08:00 GMT on Thursday. Other stations have been opened at Places Leisure in Eastleigh and at Cantell School in Southampton.

Katy Taylor, the chief customer services officer at Southern Water, encouraged customers to collect bottled water.

"We totally recognise that it is a massive inconvenience, it's just a horrible thing to happen. This is really disappointing," she said.

The company said it had started deliveries of bottled water to its most vulnerable customers on a priority services register.

Residents have started to collect bottled water at the Ageas Bowl, in West End

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