Hampshire Water Outage Expected to Persist Until Weekend

A fault at a supply works has left approximately 58,000 properties in Hampshire without water. This issue, which began on Wednesday morning, affects extensive areas including Southampton, Chandler’s Ford, Romsey, Totton, Waterside, and the New Forest. Nick Adams-King, leader of Hampshire County Council, reported that Southern Water verified the extent of the problem during a council briefing. Southern Water issued an apology and indicated that the disruption is expected to persist until the weekend. This service interruption occurs as households anticipate an announcement regarding increased water charges on Thursday morning. Ofwat, the water regulator, is anticipated to declare a rise in charges for customers in England and Wales by over 20% across the coming five years. Southern Water attributed the issue in Hampshire to a “technical issue” at its Testwood Water Supply Works, leading to either reduced pressure or a complete loss of water supply. The company further stated that bottled water stations were being established, and deliveries were ongoing for customers on its priority list. These stations have commenced operations at Places Leisure Centre (previously Fleming Park) on Passfield Avenue, Eastleigh, and at the Lordshill Sainsburys in Southampton. Southern Water also reported that tankers were actively pumping water directly into the network to mitigate the effects. Three of these tankers have been specifically allocated to Southampton General Hospital, which is also experiencing the impact. The water shortage additionally led to the closure of over 20 schools, including North Baddesley Infant School and Halterworth in the Test Valley, as well as The New Forest Academy, Cadland Primary School, Wildground in the New Forest, and Mountbatten school Romsey. Southern Water confirmed it had contacted all affected schools. Mr Adams-King stated that the council was informed that “an issue at Testwood Water Treatment Works led to an automated shutdown of the reservoir on Tuesday, December 17, due to water quality concerns”. He further elaborated: Mr Adams-King expressed his “gratitude” for the company’s prompt response, yet described the disruption as “damaging and unacceptable”. He commented, “This is the second year in succession that there has been an issue with water supply in the run-up to Christmas.” He added, “Coincidentally I and other local government leaders have a meeting tomorrow with Southern Water, I’m sure this will be at the forefront of our thinking and I will be asking for assurances that action is taken to ensure this does not happen again.” A spokesperson for Defra confirmed that the government is “aware of the water supply issues in Southampton and Marchwood”. The spokesperson continued, “We are in close contact with Southern Water to ensure that the company is taking urgent steps to support residents and resolve the issue as soon as possible.” They also stated, “The government has just announced reforms to double the compensation water companies provide to customers for supply issues like these and from next year, further investment into water infrastructure will provide a much-needed upgrade to services.”