The water outage was deeply troubling for all affected. Being without water for any period is a real worry – especially those who do not have access to transport, who are vulnerable themselves or caring for others.
Working closely with fellow MP Andrew Griffith we immediately contacted Southern Water to establish what exactly had caused the issue, what Southern were doing to restore supply, where they were opening water bottle stations and how they were supporting customers on their priority list and customers with livestock, among others.
This was the start of multiple meetings through the day and into Sunday then Monday night as we worked to ensure every possible resource was put into restoring mains supply, emergency water was being provided and schools and businesses were able to open to the maximum extent possible.
This involved speaking to multiple agencies including the CEO of Southern Water, the Minister in DEFRA (who was briefed throughout) and the County Council among others.
On a positive note I am aware of so many local residents who did huge amounts to support vulnerable friends and neighbours during a worrying time. Likewise individuals from Southern Water charged with restoring services worked throughout the 48 hours with total dedication to get residents reconnected.
However there was too much that went wrong where lessons must be learned. We need to understand about the initial failure and how quickly a response was put in train. While emergency deliveries started swiftly I have been really concerned to hear from constituents (registered on Southern Water’s priority list) who either waited too long for deliveries or in some cases it did not arrive. It took too long to establish the bottle stations in Horsham and south of Billingshurst. Staff were surged into the Southern Water Call centre but it was still inadequate to meet demand. Communications to customers were insufficient.
We need reassurance that everything will be done to prevent a repetition and, given no guarantee is perfect, that lessons have been learned from this emergency. I will report back on these meetings.
I have launched a survey on my website as I want to ensure I am capturing residents’ concerns both on this incident and more widely on customer service. Please do take a minute to complete it.
