Improvements in your area

£335m overall investment

We’re planning £335 million of investments across Kent. This includes £42 million to ensure a reliable supply of high-quality drinking water to Kent from our Wingham and Burham sites.

£65k for new homes

We’re investing to create the capacity and infrastructure necessary to support 65,568 new homes in Kent. These homes are forecast to be connected to our network by 2025.

£21m major upgrades for Swalecliffe

We’ve planned £21 million of upgrades at our Swalecliffe Wastewater Treatment Works. This includes lengthening the site’s short sea outfall so storm overflow releases happen further from the shore. This will benefit the coastline and reduce impact on water-based leisure and business.

800 litres per second

During a downpour, our Margate Pumping Station receives up to 800 litres of wastewater a second. To keep wastewater moving and improve our resilience, we’re investing £5.5 million at our Margate, Broadstairs and Weatherlees Hill sites.

15-year upgrade project for Thanet

Thanet’s Victorian sewers were laid over 100 years ago in hand-dug tunnels. Now, we’re in the final stage of a £110 million, 15-year project to upgrade these ageing sewers. This will prevent pollution and ensure they can serve Kent’s growing population.

£63k in community grants

Our community panel of young people, customers and employees chose five charities and community groups in Kent to share a total of £63,000. These are Dandelion Time, Kentish Stour Countryside Partnership, Martha Trust, Romney Marsh Day Centre and Sheppey Matters.

3.6km pipework replaced in Military Road

In the summer of 2021, we completed a £13 million replacement of our rising main on Military Road. We used trenchless technology to install the final 3.6km under a busy A road without disruption. We did this while respecting the area’s WWII archaeological significance.

£400k Drainage survey in Thanet

As our climate changes, extreme weather can cause flooding and overload our sewers. This can lead to storm water releases. We’ve committed £400,000 to complete a first-of-a-kind survey of Thanet’s entire water drainage system. This will help us identify ways to protect customers’ homes and our coastline.

£473m overall investment

We’re planning £473 million of investment across Sussex. This includes improving water quality by upgrading our wastewater treatment works that discharge into Chichester and Pagham Harbours. Another project in Winchelsea is reducing storm releases by preventing non-sewage from entering our network.

£50k for new homes

We’re investing to create the capacity and infrastructure necessary to support 50,584 new homes in East and West Sussex. These are forecast to be connected to our network by 2025.

£30m for habitats in Pevensey Levels

Following £30 million of upgrades at our wastewater treatment works in Hailsham, less phosphorous will be discharged into Pevensey Levels (a Special Area of Conservation and Site of Special Scientific Interest). This will prevent excess nutrients from stifling biodiversity.

£37m of upgrades for East Brighton and Weir Wood

We’re investing £37 million in our water supply sites in East Brighton and Weir Wood. We'll use this to upgrade our sites and treatment processes, so we can continue to provide a reliable supply of high-quality drinking water in Sussex.

£77k in community grants

Our panel of young people, customers and employees chose nine causes across Sussex to receive grants totalling £77,000. These are 4 Sight Vision, B+H Food Partnership, Chestnut Tree House, CPRE Sussex, Equine Partners CIC, FareShare Sussex, Spear Brighton, Sustainable Sussex, and The Wave Project.

£72m for harbour restoration

We led a summit with key partners to address the declining health of Chichester, Langstone and Pagham harbours. Following the summit, we've agreed on steps to restore these habitats and are investing £72 million by 2025 to improve the local water quality.

£474m overall investment

We’re investing £474 million in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. This includes £35 million at Peel Common, £24 million at Millbrook and £13 million at Sandown. This will help to increase our treatment and storage capacity and prevent stormwater releases.

£40k for new homes

We’re investing to create the capacity and infrastructure necessary to support the 36,690 new homes in Hampshire and 4,007 new homes in the Isle of Wight. These are forecast to be connected to our network by 2025.

5,822 people helped home from hospital

We’re a founding member of a partnership called Home and Well, led by the Citizens Advice Bureau Hampshire. We donate to the scheme, which helps patients return to a warm home with enough food and essential services, including water. 5,822 people had been supported by the service between April 2020 and January 2024.

21m extra litres from Portsmouth Water

Water transfers are used to move water where it’s needed most, so areas with more can help those with less. We’ve signed an agreement with Portsmouth Water to give us 21 million litres each day to help reduce Hampshire’s water shortfall.

£147m to address water shortages

Hampshire faces water shortages, following changes to how much we can take from local waterways. We’re investing £147 million in new sources to keep taps and rivers flowing. This includes the Havant Thicket reservoir (with Portsmouth Water), water re-use and water transfers.

£37k in community grants

Our community panel of young people, customers and employees chose five charities and community groups to share a total of £37,000. They include Citizens Advice Swale, Hamble Youth Club, Horndean Infants, Off the Record South East, and One Community.

410k people served by Budds Farm

Budds Farm Wastewater Treatment Works serves nearly 410,000 customers. As the population of Portsmouth and Havant grows, we’re making £18 million in upgrades. This includes new storm tanks and pipework to increase capacity and resilience during extreme weather.

£77m of upgrades in Otterbourne

We’re investing £77 million in our water treatment works in Otterbourne. We'll use this to refurbish our site and network and upgrade our treatment processes. This is so we can continue to provide a reliable supply of high-quality drinking water.

£3BN Investment

The investment we secured through Ofwat’s 2019 financial determination has been boosted by additional equity investment. This will support the overhaul of our business, ensuring we are better financed to deliver the improvements our customers and the environment deserve.

80% Less pollution

Through our Pollution Reduction Programme, we’re working to reduce the number of pollution incidents by up to 80% by 2025. To achieve this target, we’re investing £83 million to reduce risks and significantly increase monitoring of our network.

156K New homes

The South East has one of the country’s highest levels of housing growth. We’re investing £207 million to create the capacity and infrastructure necessary to support the 156,849 new homes forecast to be connected to our network by 2025.

£140m on leaks

In the water-scarce South East, driving down leakage and water demand are critical to ensuring a long-term supply for customers. We’re investing £140 million in teams and technology to detect leaks, so we can reduce leakage by 15% by 2025.

70 Apprentices

As a local employer, we’re passionate about helping people enter and progress through the world of work. That’s why we provide 70 apprenticeships each year. They work across four counties, Hampshire, Kent, East and West Sussex and the Isle of Wight.

231,500K People

Customers who need extra support due to a health condition or other challenge can register for Priority Services, so we know how to help and who to prioritise in an emergency. By the end of February 2024, more than 231,500 customers were registered with us.

84 Bathing waters

Bathing water quality remains high at our 84 designated bathing waters. 74 of these are now classified as 'Excellent' or 'Good' by our regulators, with six at 'Sufficient' and only four classified as 'Poor'. Our £5 million bathing water enhancement programme continues.

£1.31 a day

In 2023–24, our customers will pay an average of £1.31 a day for us to provide wholesome drinking water and take their wastewater away. This money lets us maintain our operations, improve our services, protect the environment and more.

143K Customers

143,942 customers received a discounted or capped bill from us by February 2024. We’ve also launched a Hardship Fund, allowing customers facing financial difficulty to apply for a one-off bill reduction, debt write-off or grant for specific home improvements.

£32m Eco projects

As part of our £32 million Catchment First programme, we’re working in partnership with farmers and other local stakeholders to develop nature-based solutions that protect water sources, reduce our carbon impact, improve biodiversity and reduce flood risks.

£517m for waterways

As part of our most ambitious environment programme, we’re investing £517 million to improve seven bathing waters and 537km of rivers. This includes investigations, monitoring, river restoration schemes and projects to reduce the pollutants entering the water.

148% More roles

To keep our essential services running, we directly employ over 2,500 people. To achieve our goals, we’re recruiting more talent.