South West Water statement - Ofwat’s Freeze/Thaw report

19th June 2018

  

 

We appreciate the positive feedback from industry regulator Ofwat on how South West Water responded to the challenges faced by the ‘Beast from the East’ in early March, and fully recognise the inconvenience caused to those affected by disrupted water supplies.  The vast majority of customers, however, continued to receive an uninterrupted water supply.

Inevitably, after such a major incident there are lessons to be learned, both for us and the wider industry.  For us, these include extra telemetry to assess network performance and ensure that customers are protected from the complex alterations required to maintain drinking water supplies in such circumstances.  We will also focus on quicker identification of leaks in vacant business premises, such as caravan parks and holiday homes. 

In March the South West experienced some of the worst weather conditions in a generation. The lowest temperature for nearly 60 years, followed by the fastest thaw since records began in 1960, led to a large number of burst water mains across the region. Despite the fact that the South West was the only part of England to receive a ‘red’ weather warning – the highest level – by all accounts water supplies in some other parts of the country were more disrupted and for longer.

We had well-rehearsed resilience plans in place, working with our partners in the Regional Resilience Forum.  Alternative water supplies were arranged for those most affected and with priority needs, and compensation was promptly paid.

Before the incident, we promoted our ‘get ready for winter’ campaign online and via social and traditional media, and during the incident we communicated round-the-clock with customers and stakeholders.

 We are very grateful for the understanding and support we received from the communities we serve, and would like to pay tribute to our staff who worked so hard, in challenging circumstances and despite weather-related travel restrictions.

Key Facts:

• One-in-60-year event, at least
• 1.4% of South West Water customers were affected by supply interruptions of varying duration.  The remainder were not directly affected
• 265,000 litres of bottled water were deployed (and arrangements made to recycle them)
• 20 water bowsers and 20 tankers were used
• The most affected customers received above normal levels of compensation

 

South West Water extracts from Ofwat’s ‘Out in the Cold’ Report (19 June 2018):

P7 / 22

“Some companies, such as South West Water, were more active in helping customers to address bursts on customer premises, enabling them to better manage supply across their networks.”

P23

“Affinity Water, Northumbrian Water, South West Water and Yorkshire Water staffed key water treatment works 24 hours a day during the incident period to reduce the likelihood of loss of production.”

P26

“Welsh Water (Dŵr Cymru), Severn Trent Water, South West Water, Yorkshire Water and Anglian Water utilised paid social media promotion or geo-targeted posting to ensure they reached customers in certain areas or beyond their following.”

P28

“South West Water demonstrated good communication with wider stakeholders to respond to the needs of customers in vulnerable circumstances, including their customer service team receiving training from the charity MIND and the Red Cross supporting their efforts to distribute bottled water to customers. Precautionary tankers were provided to hospitals in the areas confirmed to be without 24 hour storage.”