South East Water Chief Executive Steps Down After Months of Outages and Criticism

The boss of South East Water has announced he will step down following months of growing criticism over major water outages that left thousands of homes across Kent and Sussex without supply.

The resignation comes after a difficult period for the company, particularly following the pre-Christmas crisis which saw more than 24,000 households in areas including Tunbridge Wells lose access to running water. Many residents were left unable to shower, cook properly or even flush toilets for days, while schools, care homes and local businesses also faced serious disruption.

Although the chief executive will remain in post temporarily during a transition period, the decision follows mounting pressure from politicians, campaigners and customers demanding major changes at the company.

In recent months, South East Water has faced criticism not only for the outages themselves, but also for how the situation was handled. MPs accused the company of poor communication, slow emergency response times and failing to properly invest in infrastructure resilience before problems escalated.

Parliamentary committees investigating the crisis said they had lost confidence in the company’s leadership, while regulators continue examining the failures that contributed to the outages. The company also faces the possibility of significant financial penalties linked to supply failures.

Public frustration across West Kent became increasingly visible after the crisis, with residents creating community groups and even launching the website SouthEastWaterIsAJoke.co.uk to highlight ongoing anger over repeated supply problems and communication failures.

Critics argue the issues go beyond one single incident and reflect years of underinvestment and weak resilience within the network, particularly as population growth and climate pressures continue to increase demand on ageing infrastructure.

South East Water says it is now focusing on engineering upgrades, operational changes and a wider transformation programme aimed at improving reliability across its network. However, many residents remain sceptical after multiple supply incidents over recent years.

Political leaders from across different parties have also stressed that changing leadership alone will not solve the deeper structural problems facing the company. Concerns remain around ageing pipes, treatment works resilience and emergency planning during future outages.

The search for a new chief executive is expected to begin immediately.