Southern Water has reported the successful conclusion of its two-year Turnaround Plan – the company’s Final Update Report highlights how it has delivered “a short sharp boost in performance over 24 months” in the areas customers have said are most important to them.

A new 24/7 Control Centre now coordinates activity across the Southern Water network, using data from 32,000 digital sewer monitors to find faults before they become pollutions or floods. This has been the driving force behind total pollution figures dropping by more than 30% during the Turnaround Plan period.

At the same time, Southern Water says its Clean Rivers and Seas Task Force has continued to reduce storm overflows. Early investment in a series of sustainable drainage projects across the region saw the company beat its 2024 storm overflow reduction target - moving forward the utility says it is continuing to deliver on its £1.5 billion Clean Rivers and Seas Plan

Reliable water supply

The past two years has seen the completion of 103 improvement projects at Southern Water’s largest water supply works, investing a total of £150 million to improve the reliability of customer supplies – with £330 million being spent this year in more key improvements.

Overall leakage on the company’s network has also reduced: in 2024/25 alone, Southern achieved an 18% fall. Efforts to manage pressure better within pipes have also driven down the number of bursts, outperforming Ofwat’s regulatory target for mains repairs.

Trusted and easy customer service

Southern Water is also highlighting improvements such as a simplified and mobile-friendly website, and a new process to get operational teams to problems faster, which have helped continue to drive down customer complaints – at 25% down year-on-year.

Next steps

Southern Water says the progress, alongside steps forward in other key metrics including drinking water quality and internal and external floodings, is a reflection of significant effort from all its people during the turnaround plan period.

It also reflects the record levels of capital investment in the network – at £977 million last year alone - and our decision to spend £1.5 billion more than the 2020-25 budget agreed with Ofwat. The water company says this resulted in an operating loss for the third consecutive year in 2024/25.

CEO Lawrence Gosden said:

“Our change has been rapid, guided by our Turnaround Plan, which since 2023 has delivered significant improvements in critical performance areas. The whole company, supported by its shareholders, is committed to building on the progress made, as we get on with delivering our largest ever investment over the next five years to make further improvements for customers and the environment.”