Southern Water unveils £1.5bn investment to cut spills by 8,000 a year by 2035

£1.5bn is to be invested by Southern Water in cutting spills by 8,000 a year by 2035 as the company says it wants to get to the root cause of storm overflows.

Last month it was revealed as the most complained about water company in the country and before that told to pay out £43 million because it failed to meet targets in reducing pollution, leakage and supply interruptions.

The first phase of this plan will be delivered between 2025 and 2030 and will see an investment of £700 million to focus on areas such as shellfish and bathing waters, and environmentally sensitive sites. This means by 2030, spills will reduce by 3,000 a year.  

CEO of Southern Water, Lawrence Gosden, said: "I’ve heard our customers’ concerns, and we take our impact on the environment seriously. We have a long-term strategy to 2050 that will restore and protect our regions’ rivers and coastal habitats and a large part of that will be to get to the root cause of storm overflows. 

"We cannot simply switch storm overflows off. But by implementing this Clean Rivers and Seas Plan and tackling the root cause, slowing the flow of rainwater going into the combined sewer, whilst increasing capacity of our network, we can reduce their use.

"Collaboration is key, and we cannot achieve the results needed alone. That is why we are calling on our customers and local authorities to work with us and adopt solutions like water butts or sustainable drainage systems, to channel rainwater safely and slowly back into the environment. Together, we can go faster and further, protecting our communities and our environment."