Southern Water: contact number for compensation as firm to pay £10m after major supply outage - how to claim

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com 
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
Thousands of UK households will receive a slice of nearly £10m in payouts 💧
  • Nearly £10 million in compensation will be paid to 58,000 households
  • The disruption affected homes, businesses and hospitals
  • Repairs were completed within a day, but full restoration took until reservoirs were refilled
  • The company apologised, admitted failings in its response

A water company has said it will pay out nearly £10 million in compensation to almost 60,000 households, following water outages lasting nearly two days.

The disruption began on Wednesday (18 December) morning, affecting homes, businesses, and hospitals in Southampton, Romsey, Eastleigh, Totton, and parts of the New Forest, which faced either no water or low pressure.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Although the fault at Southern Water’s Testwood water supply works was repaired on Thursday, it took until Friday 20 December for water supplies to be fully restored as storage reservoirs refilled.

The incident coincided with the announcement that households served by Southern Water would face the highest bill increases in the country - with an increase of 53% over the next five years.

Southern Water’s CEO, Lawrence Gosden, issued an apology and confirmed compensation payments totalling £9.7 million. He also announced plans to invest £250 million over the next seven years to upgrade the Testwood site.

(Photo: Pexels)(Photo: Pexels)
(Photo: Pexels) | Pexels

In a statement, Gosden said: “I want to apologise personally to the community in Hampshire following the water supply interruption this week, for the huge disruption and inconvenience it caused so many people so close to Christmas.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“The community served by the Testwood water works has suffered similar interruptions before, and so what happened this week is a repeat for many who live in the area.

“I understand how disruptive and infuriating this was for all those affected, and I’m very sorry. It was the single biggest water supply incident in our company’s history.”

Gosden said the company had “failed” in its response to the incident by initially not providing enough water bottle stations and “poorly serving” those on the priority services register.

He added that the company would review the incident but could not rule out future problems because of the “ageing infrastructure” which needed to be modernised.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He said: “This badly-needed investment is now coming and is the main reason customer bills are going to rise significantly over the next five years.”

How do I claim my compensation?

Customers affected by the recent water outages in Hampshire will be informed about their compensation directly by Southern Water.

CEO Lawrence Gosden stated: "All customers will hear from us in writing in the next three weeks what compensation they will receive."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

This means customers do not need to take any immediate action to claim their compensation, as Southern Water will proactively contact them with details of the compensation amount and how it will be processed.

If customers have questions or do not receive communication within the three-week timeframe, they can reach out to Southern Water’s customer service on 0330 303 0368 team for assistance.

We want to hear from you! Were you affected by the water outages, or do you have thoughts on the compensation and future bill increases? Share your experiences and opinions in the comments section.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.

News you can trust since 1854
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice