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South East Water chair resigns after report into supply issues that left thousands without drinking water
The independent non-executive chair of South East Water, Chris Train, resigned after a critical MPs' report into outages that left tens of thousands without drinking water. The document criticised leadership and governance, MPs expressed no confidence, and regulators considered penalties while the company pledged investment in resilience and leadership change.
Why It Matters
The governance and supplier reliability issues at a major water company have implications for public health, customer trust, and regulatory oversight of essential infrastructure.
Timeline
15 Events
Shareholders urged to act (names highlighted)
May 1, 2026
The report named SEW shareholders including the Utilities Trust of Australia, NatWest Group pension fund and Desjardins Group to take action.
Leadership described as an 'unaccountable clique' in the report
May 1, 2026
The MPs' report criticised SEW leadership as an 'unaccountable clique' rather than a 'family feel'.
Residents' reactions to outages
May 1, 2026
Tunbridge Wells residents Julian Leefe-Griffiths and Daphne Pilcher voiced frustration with the outages and called for accountability and honesty from SEW's leadership.
SEW apologises and commits to network investment
May 1, 2026
SEW apologised to customers for the disruptions and the loss of public trust, and announced plans to double investment in its supply network over five years.
Interim chair Lisa Clement outlines ongoing focus
May 1, 2026
Lisa Clement, interim SEW independent non-executive chair, said the company’s focus remained on delivering changes to strengthen network resilience and benefit customers and communities.
Call to act on SEW shareholders
May 1, 2026
The committee urged SEW shareholders, including major investors, to act in response to the ongoing problems.
Ofwat comments on performance and potential fines
May 1, 2026
Ofwat said SEW had one of the worst records for supply interruptions over the last decade and is consulting on a proposed fine of up to £22.46m over Tunbridge Wells failures.
New leadership needed to oversee transformative change
May 1, 2026
SEW said new leadership was needed to oversee a critical period of positive, transformative change for the company.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee declares no confidence in SEW leadership
May 1, 2026
The committee declared no confidence in SEW's chief executive and board, citing poor leadership, weak governance and ongoing failures.
Chris Train resigns as chair after damning report
May 1, 2026
Independent non-executive chair Chris Train stepped down on Friday May 1, 2026 following a report that criticised SEW's leadership as an 'unaccountable clique'.
Bills increased from April 2026
April 2026
Bills for SEW customers increased by 7% from April 2026, bringing the average yearly bill to £324 for 2026/27 (up from £303 the year before).
Outages in December 2025: up to 30,000 households affected
December 2025
Weeks after the November outages, up to 30,000 households faced days of water chaos in December 2025.
Outages in November 2025: 24,000 customers affected in Kent and East Sussex
November 2025
Around 24,000 South East Water customers in Kent and East Sussex faced supply disruption in November 2025.
Pembury Treatment Works outage leads to parliamentary hearings
2025
Two parliamentary hearings into the Pembury Treatment Works outage occurred in late 2025, following disruption to water supplies.
Chris Train joins South East Water as independent non-executive chair
2022
Chris Train joined SEW in 2022 as independent non-executive chair, with the company aiming to further improve customer satisfaction.