Southern Water: Low pressure or no water at all in New Forest

The company says demand is outstripping its ability to provide water, resulting in problems for people living in areas including the New Forest, Southampton, Eastleigh and Chandler's Ford.

Householders affected will have to put up with low pressure - or no water at all - until Friday at the earliest.

Bottled water stations have been set up in the areas affected and Southern Water has pledged to deliver supplies to its more vulnerable customers.

Water leaks have contributed to supply problems in parts of Hampshire (Image: Newsquest.)

Chief operating officer Bob Collington said: "We are currently facing significant pressure on our water supply in parts of Hampshire, caused by a combination of factors including leaks resulting from the recent ‘freeze/thaw’ event.

"This has meant demand for water is outstripping the ability of our water treatment sites to keep taps running. 

"We are working as hard as we can to solve this issue, tackling leaks and stabilising supply, but we must also make difficult decisions to reduce demand in order to protect critical Hampshire infrastructure like hospitals.

"We have unfortunately had to restrict supplies to customers in the Southampton, Eastleigh, Hedge End and Chandler's Ford areas for at least 48 hours.   

"We are very sorry for the disruption and inconvenience this will inevitably cause in lead-up to Christmas, and are working as hard as we can resume services by Sunday."

Frozen pipes have contributed to water supply problems in parts of Hampshire (Image: Newsquest.)

Ofwat, which regulates the industry, said: "Freezing weather followed by a swift thaw has led to burst pipes and disruptions to water supply.

"We need to see water companies stepping up, responding swiftly and offering support and compensation where appropriate throughout a trying period.

"We expect companies to have learned from the conclusions of our report on the 2018 freeze/thaw."

Hampshire county councillor David Harrison added: "This is yet more evidence that we have a very poor performing system for managing water supplies in this country. We should nationalise this critically important utility. It is too important to leave in private hands."

People living in the New Forest are among those hit by supply problems.

In a statement to customers, Southern Water said recent heavy rain had increased the amount of sediment in water extracted from Hampshire rivers.

"This means our water treatment works are having to work harder to treat the water before we can supply our customers."