Furious homeowners brand highest water bill hikes in the UK ‘bonkers’ as tens of thousands face Christmas weekend cut off from supplies after ‘technical issue’

Residents across Hampshire are furious at seeing their water bills increase after thousands of homes were left without supplies following a ‘technical issue’.

Almost 60,000 homes across Hampshire – in Southampton, Romsey, Eastleigh, Totton, and parts of the New Forest – have had low pressure or no water at all the past few days. 

Water has since returned to 38,000 homes that were affected by the disruption, but those homeowners have now discovered their bills would see the highest increase in the country.

Southern Water apologised and said it will work through the night to restore water for the remaining households. 

It comes as an eye-watering round of water bill increases had been announced by regulator Ofwat on Wednesday, despite fury at the performance of operators.

And Southern Water customers are being hit hardest with bills going up 53 per cent over the period – and inflation projected to add another 10 per cent.

In a statement, the company said: ‘We’re continuing to bring more customers back into supply and 38,800 (67 per cent) properties have seen their water return. This number is increasing steadily and will continue to do so throughout the night.

‘Some customers will temporarily see lower pressure than normal as we fill up our network.’

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The issue began on Wednesday morning after Southern Water issued an update confirming there was a technical problem at the Testwood water supply works preventing water from leaving the site. 

The company said in a statement on Thursday morning that the issue had been solved and customers will start to be reconnected later in the day.

One of those affected is Jill Woolger, 66, from Dibden Perlieu near the New Forest, who has been without water since Wednesday morning and is yet to receive any bottled water deliveries despite being on the priority list.

The retired nurse, who has ulcerative colitis, an autoimmune condition affecting her bowels, called the increase in water bill charges ‘bonkers’.

‘The fact that we’re being stung for the highest increase in water charges… How bonkers is that?’ she said.

Ms Woolger tried getting water from local shops and her nearby bottled water station but said the area was ‘chaotic’.

‘With regard to what deliveries there were to be able to go to a water station, everywhere was chaotic,’ Ms Woolger told the PA news agency.

‘Everywhere in the local area had completely sold out. There was nothing.

‘I ended up phoning, and had to wait for an hour to phone Southern Water and went through on their priority service line. It took an hour to actually speak to somebody, who was really lovely on the phone.’

She said the customer service adviser said she would send on her details to the priority service team, but that she received ‘absolutely nothing now for the rest of the day’.

She has criticised Southern Water for its lack of updates about supplies, particularly for priority list customers.

‘It’s been dire and it’s been so out of touch with what is actually happening’ she said.

‘I think Southern Water needs to answer some really significant questions.’

Ms Woolger’s water supplies had not returned on Thursday and she said she had around two and half litres worth of water to last her until Friday morning.

Residents queued for up to two hours outside one of four bottle distribution centres at the Asda supermarket in Totton.

Long queues of cars could be seen causing congestion in the surrounding streets, while some had walked for up to three miles to collect their allocation of water.

Tankers were deployed on Wednesday to supply water for Southampton General Hospital.

Tim McMahon, managing director for water at Southern Water, said: ‘We’re very sorry for the disruption caused to customers who’ve lost supply.

‘Overnight our teams have fixed the problem at the Testwood water works and restarted the site.

‘We’re now filling up the reservoir again with drinking water, ready to restore supply.

‘This is a gradual process which must be done carefully and safely, but households will start to be reconnected later today.’

The firm warned that households with returned supplies may see discoloured water but said this is a normal occurrence.

‘If your water is back on, you may also notice the water isn’t completely clear to begin with. This is completely normal,’ it said.

‘If your water has not returned yet, please make sure your taps are all turned off to avoid any flooding.’