Southern Water published its Annual Report and Financial Statements on 15th July 2022.
The Annual Report demonstrates the progress that we are making with our performance transformation, as well as providing transparency about the areas where we recognise improvement is required.
As is standard practice, the Annual Report and Financial Statements also set out both our financial performance as well as our performance against metrics agreed with Ofwat. While we are not meeting all our targets and know that we must continue to improve, we are showing significant in-year improvement across a majority which demonstrates the progress we are making.
Highlights include:
- We’ve provided financial support to 140,445 customers, and increased the number on our Priority Services Register by 56%.
- We refreshed our approach to non-household retailer engagement, driving down long unread meters and providing an increased range of credit support options. Our retailer experience rating moved up four industry places from 11th to 7th this year.
- We donated over £300,000 to regional causes, supporting local charities, community and volunteer groups. And we’ve provided over 1400 hours of volunteering.
- Significant effort to improve resilience and reduce blockages has seen a second year of reduced external flooding incidents. However internal flooding incidents increased largely as a result of severe weather events last summer.
- We achieved a biosolid (a bi-product of the treatment process) recycling record with 100% being recycled as a fertiliser.
- We are continuing to invest in our wastewater network to improve our flooding and pollutions performance. At a regional investment level we are:
- committing £400,000 to complete a first-of-its-kind survey of Thanet’s entire drainage system. This will identify ways to protect customers’ home from flooding and our coastline from potential pollution
- making £18 million of upgrades at Budds Farm Treatment Works including new storm tanks and pipework to provide greater resilience during extreme weather
- making £21 million of upgrades at Swalecliffe Wastewater Treatment Works, including lengthening the site’s short sea outfall, to enhance the coastline and reduce any impact on water-based leisure and business
- investing £72 million between now and 2025 to improve local water quality in and around Chichester, Langstone and Pagham harbours
- We are investing £700 million so that we can continue to deliver reliable supplies of clean drinking water through routine maintenance, improvement work and leak detection.
- We are investing £147 million in new water sources to address the water scarcity issues faced by our region. This includes Havant Thicket reservoir (jointly with Portsmouth Water), water re-use and water transfer schemes.