South East Water Losing More Than 100 Million Litres A Day Through Leaks

South East Water is losing more than 100 million litres of water every day through leaks across its network, according to newly published figures.

Data from water regulator Ofwat shows the supplier lost an average of 104 million litres daily during 2024/25 – enough to make around 500 million cups of tea.

The figures come as the company continues to face scrutiny over supply disruptions affecting customers across Sussex and Kent.

South East Water's head of asset management, Marc Sims, said the company was "working hard" to tackle the problem and had brought in additional repair teams to help reduce leakage.

However, the latest data shows leakage levels have increased by eight per cent compared with 2019/20.

The figures have prompted criticism from local politicians, particularly after thousands of customers experienced water shortages and low pressure in recent years.

Kent County Councillor Antony Hook said the amount of clean, treated water being lost each day could supply more than 700,000 people.

The issue follows a series of high-profile supply problems, including a hosepipe ban affecting 1.4 million customers across Sussex and Kent last year.

Councillor Bill Barratt described the scale of the leaks as "absolutely shocking".

"I'm dumbfounded that South East Water is getting away with wasting water in the region of 100 million litres a day, and yet have the gall to put the public's water bills up," he said.

The company increased bills by an average of seven per cent in April, taking the average annual charge to £324.

South East Water says the increase is needed to fund improvements to customer service, strengthen the network and reduce supply interruptions.

The latest figures emerged following an inquiry by Kent County Council into recent supply failures, which highlighted concerns over communication, infrastructure resilience and the impact of outages on businesses, schools and care providers.

Ofwat has also proposed a £22 million penalty for South East Water over incidents affecting around 286,000 customers across Kent and Sussex between 2020 and 2023.

South East Water says it currently spends around £35 million a year finding and repairing leaks and remains committed to halving leakage levels by 2050.

Mr Sims said the company found and repaired more than 21,000 leaks on its network during the past year, along with a further 6,000 leaks on customers' pipework.

"Maintaining and upgrading our network is a top priority at South East Water," he said.