South East Water boss admits he ‘got it wrong’ when handling outages

LocalEnvironment
14 Apr 2026 • 9:52 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

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  • South East Water's chairman, Chris Train, conceded the company "failed on the basic objective of delivering water" following widespread outages that left thousands without a reliable supply.
  • Chief Executive David Hinton admitted he "got it wrong" regarding his handling of the crisis, including poor communication, infrastructure issues, and a reactive culture.
  • These admissions were made during a Parliamentary Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee hearing, where bosses were grilled over supply interruptions in Kent and Sussex.
  • Thousands of homes, particularly in Tunbridge Wells, experienced prolonged water outages in late 2023 and early 2024, with the latter incident attributed to burst pipes and power cuts from Storm Goretti.
  • Despite widespread criticism and the company facing a planned £22 million fine from Ofwat for past failures, the board has backed the current leadership team, though Mr Hinton has surrendered his bonus.

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