Caroline Dinenage MP calls on Southern Water to address failings highlighted in damning report
Southern Water given worst possible performance rating
The MP for Gosport has called for Southern Water to address the failings identified in a recent report with her constituent’s patience “wearing thin”.
Dame Caroline Dinenage wrote to the water company’s CEO Lawrence Godsen, calling for a plan to be set our after it was given the worst possible performance rating of 1 star.
The report, compiled jointly by the Drinking Water Inspectorate, Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales and Ofwat rated Southern Water’s environmental performance as “poor” with its high level of pollution incidents a “concern”.
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Writing in the letter, Dame Caroline Dinenage MP said: “My constituents in Gosport, Stubbington, Lee-on-the-Solent and Hill Head live alongside some of the most precious coastline in the country and rightly expect it to be protected. Their patience is wearing thin.
“As Chief Executive, you will appreciate that these results are now inseparable from your own reputation. The public will judge your leadership not by the commitments in your turnaround plan, but by whether it delivers tangible change on the ground, and on the evidence of this report it is not doing so.”
One of the issues flagged by the report was the company’s poor asset resilience and stated its rating would not improve without significantly reducing the number of pollution incidents.
In response to the release of the report, Tim Mcmahon, chief operating officer of Southern Water said: “Ofwat’s report says Southern Water’s performance is ‘improving’, recognising the progress we’re making in key areas, though we’re not yet out of the lower category.
“Last year, we reduced water supply interruptions by 96 per cent, cutting the average time customers were without water from more than 2 hours the year before to just over 5 minutes. Ofwat has showcased that improvement, featuring it as a case study. Among other improvements, we got external sewer flooding down by 18 per cent, and we cut leakage by 12 per cent.
"The EPA rating from the Environment Agency is disappointing but was expected, reflecting the challenges we faced in 2025 operating ageing infrastructure during periods of extreme weather and intense rainfall. We have reduced overall pollutions by almost a third since 2023, but we know there’s much more to do.
“Backed by a record £8.9bn investment, we’re tackling the root causes of pollutions -- including increased monitoring and technology to detect and remove blockages, replacing ageing infrastructure, improving maintenance and strengthening power resilience at high-risk sites. These are the actions needed to achieve better outcomes for customers and the environment. Meaningful change won’t happen overnight, but we’ve made significant progress since launching our turnaround plan, and we’re determined to continue that improvement.”