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What happens when there's an incident

Incidents can happen due to things like burst or blocked pipes, equipment failures, bad weather, power cuts, or unexpected problems during planned work. Learn how we manage incidents and how we’ll support you when you have no water.

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Supporting you when you have no water

During an incident, like a loss of water supply, we'll regularly keep you updated by:

For larger incidents, we'll also keep you updated by

If your water supply is interrupted because of an incident or unplanned work, we’ll do everything we can to make sure you still have access to water. We’ll do this by using our tankers to fill up reservoirs or add water directly into our network, or set up bottled water stations and deliver water to your door.  

Eligible customers on our Priority Service Register, may be entitled to receive water deliveries during a loss of supply. Our free confidential Priority Services Register (PSR) supports customers with additional needs, such as disabilities and illnesses, on a long-term or temporary basis, prioritising those who need our support the most.

If you're eligible for bottled water deliveries, we will notify you to confirm when this is happening. We'll deliver bottled water to eligible customers, within 12 hours, except through the night. We’ll carry on delivering bottled water every 24 hours until your water returns.

You’ll be able to collect water at drive-through bottled water stations with safe pedestrian access. They’ll be set up around the local area with locations being agreed in advance, working with local authorities and as part of our emergency planning process.

Your questions answered

Here you'll find answers to some commonly asked questions about incidents.

In the rare event that there are concerns over water quality, we may issue emergency notices about your water supply.

There are five different emergency notices that could be issued:

  • Boil your tap water before use.
  • Do not use tap water for drinking or cooking.
  • Do not use tap water for drinking, cooking, or washing. 
  • Do not use tap water.
  • Use your tap water as normal. 

It's a regulatory requirement for us to contact you by post if you should stop using your water or you need to boil it. We'll also contact you in other ways, like by email or text, to let you know if there's an issue with your water. 

Eligible customers on our Priority Service Register, may be entitled to receive bottled water. This will be delivered by companies supporting our incident response. It's unlikely that they'll be a direct employee of Southern Water but they will all be carrying ID. 

We’ll make sure you have at least 10 litres of water per person, per day, if we are unable to give water through normal piped supply. This increases to 20 litres per person, per day, after 120 hours (five days). 

If you've been told you'll receive a delivery of water and haven't received it, it may be that it's still out for delivery. We sometimes have to complete thousands of doorstep deliveries, which does take time. Please contact us if you've not received a delivery after 12 hours of losing your water supply. 

If your water is back on, you may notice that it’s slow to come out of the tap or you have low pressure. This is normal as the network fills up. You may also notice the water isn’t completely clear to begin with.

Below are some of the things you can expect as your water comes back on:

  • Discoloured water from your taps is normal after a supply interruption. This is usually temporary and disappears once the network settles. 
  • If the water is cloudy and white, try leaving it in a glass for a few minutes to see if it clears, this will be air trapped in the water as the pipes refilled. 
  • Chlorine smell or taste. This is perfectly normal and comes from the small amounts of chlorine that remain in your supply known as 'chlorine residual'.
  • If the water has a brown or black colour, run your tap for a few minutes and it should clear. If this doesn't work, turn the tap off, wait 20 minutes, and try again. It’s fine to use your water as normal when your water runs clear.  

Sometimes after our water network has been emptied, air locks can occur either in our pipes or yours's — running taps for a short while can help bring water through.

Find out more on our my water looks, smells, or tastes unusual. 

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