Portsmouth Labour MP criticises proposed Ofwat water bill hikes as campaigner pressures Southern Water

In a letter to Stephen Morgan MP, local campaigner Jacob Short criticised the recent sewage discharges and described the planned bill hikes as “unacceptable.” He highlighted the situation at Southsea East bathing site, near South Parade Pier, which experienced eight sewage overflow alerts on July 25 and another 17 alerts on July 15.

Mr Short, a former Portsmouth South candidate, condemned the proposed price rise as “appalling given the company’s ongoing failures in maintaining adequate infrastructure”. He also reflected the anger among residents, noting that many are considering withholding payments or pursuing legal action.

Under the proposed increases, bills for Southern Water customers are set to rise from £420 in 2024/2025 to £603 in 2029/30. Meanwhile, Portsmouth Water customers will see their bills increase from £114 in 2024/2025 to £135 in 2029/2030. Portsmouth South’s Labour MP Stephen Morgan criticised the proposed hikes, saying: “Water bill rises are the result of years of Conservative failure. Firm action should have been taken much earlier by the previous government to ensure money was spent on fixing the sewage system, not syphoned off for bonuses and dividends.

“The environment secretary has already secured agreement that funding for vital infrastructure investment is ringfenced and can only be spent on upgrades benefiting customers and the environment. Ofwat will also ensure that when money for investment is not spent, companies refund customers, with money never allowed to be diverted for bonuses, dividends or salary increases. This is the urgent action our community needs.”

A Southern Water spokesperson said it was tackling sewage being dumped in seas. They said “Our shareholders have injected more than £1.5 billion to drive the turnaround plan which has already delivered a 65 per cent fall in complaints and a 35 per cent cut in pollution incidents. Bills will need to rise to meet the huge future challenges faced in this region – effectively redesigning the sewage system to slash storm releases and making huge investments in water infrastructure to ensure resilient supplies.” The company added it has a program for the financially viable, offering discounts from 45 to 90 per cent.