South East Water CEO Resigns After Supply Crisis

BBC Business reported Friday that the chief executive of South East Water has resigned following a string of severe supply failures. Chief Executive David Hinton is stepping down after outages left tens of thousands of homes in Kent and Sussex without running water. The company said Hinton would stay on through the summer to ensure a smooth handover.

A Crisis That Escalated Quickly

South East Water acknowledged Hinton’s own view that his presence had become a distraction. The company said its overriding focus must be reliable water delivery to customers.

Nearly 24,000 properties lost water or experienced dangerously low pressure during late November and early December. A disinfection fault at Pembury Water Treatment Works was identified as the cause. Residents faced a nine-day boil-water advisory after supply resumed.

Weeks later, a second wave of disruptions struck during Storm Goretti and a cold snap. Areas including East Grinstead, Maidstone, and Canterbury were all affected. Up to 30,000 properties were impacted in that second round of failures.

Leadership Exodus and Parliamentary Scrutiny

Hinton’s departure follows that of company chair Chris Train, who stepped down just one week earlier. A parliamentary select committee had published a sharply critical report on 1 May. The report cited poor leadership, weak governance, and a culture of zero accountability.

Interim Chair Lisa Clement thanked Hinton for his years of service. Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds welcomed the news and called for genuine cultural change at the company. Alistair Carmichael MP, who chairs the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, said the resignation was clearly overdue.

Multiple local MPs echoed that sentiment, with several expressing frustration it had taken so long.

Regulators Close In

Ofwat, the water industry regulator, is actively investigating the recent incidents. It is also consulting on a separate £22 million fine tied to supply disruptions between 2020 and 2023. The Drinking Water Inspectorate has launched its own parallel inquiry.

The Inspectorate had previously described the November outage as both foreseeable and preventable. It pointed to longstanding weaknesses in management, maintenance, and organisational readiness.

Local business owners described significant financial losses during the outages. One butcher said he was forced to close for roughly a week in November. A care home manager said vulnerable residents had relied on roughly 2,000 bottles of water each day. South East Water said it had already begun engineering works and operational changes in response.

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