Southern Water announces £9.7 million compensation after major outage affecting 58,000 homes

Southern Water's CEO, Lawrence Gosden, announced a £9.7 million compensation plan after an outage left 58,000 households without water. The disruption affected areas in Southampton, Eastleigh, Romsey, and the New Forest. Gosden admitted the company "failed" its customers during the incident, which he called the largest water supply issue in the company's history. Many residents faced long waits for emergency bottled water. The outage occurred during planned works at the aging Testwood Water Supply Works. Southern Water's customers are also facing a 53% increase in bills over the next five years.