Agenda item

This report sets out a response to a Member’s item raised by Councillor Field, in relation to Southern Water.

Discussion:

The Chairperson explained that he had requested the Members item as he felt it would be useful for the Committee to meet with Southern Water to discuss the issues outlined in the report and thanked colleagues for attending.

Mike Russell and Paul Morgan explained their roles at Southern Water and explained that Tom Williams (Regional Operations Manager for water network) was unable to attend due to a family emergency.

The Committee was then given a presentation by Southern Water highlighting how they engaged with the community, services provided, the business plan, investments and projects in the waste water network and medium and long term plans.

Members raised the following queries:

Pentagon Centre Flooding – Members expressed concern about the issues caused for the Town Centre and lack on investment. Paul Morgan explained that £400k had been set aside this year to work on the pumps at Waterfront Rats Bay as the site is very old and Southern Water are looking at investment in the next period to revamp the whole station. Officers requested a meeting at a senior level with Southern Water to discuss the impact of flooding on the Pentagon Shopping Centre. Southern Water were also asked to confirm the catchment area for Waterfront Rats Bay.

Disposal of sludge – Members were concerned about the disposal of sludge if it could not be spread on farmers fields. Paul Morgan will refer this query back to the treatment team at Southern Water and respond to Members outside of the meeting.

Low water pressure at Allhallows – Members queried whether a water tower was planned for Allhallows due to the low water pressure and Southern Water agreed to refer this query back to Tom Williams and respond to Members.

Balancing investment against prices - Mike Russell explained that the price increase this year had been around 40% however in the previous 5 to 10 years the price had hardly increased. The Committee were informed that whilst Ofwat protected consumers this had left an investment gap and blocked certain levels of investment however it had been agreed not in increase prices as sharply over the next 4 years. Mike explained that essential tariffs for benefit claiming residents which are 40% lower, had seen investment doubled and information on essential tariffs could be found on Southern Water’s website.

Care Home with no water supply – An issue was reported to Councillors when a Care Home in Cuxton had no water and Members and officers had to support vulnerable residents during this incident. Southern Water responded to say that this should not have happened, and they would look into the incident if officers could provide further details.

Climate Change – The Committee were informed that work is ongoing to use solar power and be more energy efficient where possible as well as reducing leaks by 50% and Mike Russell offered to provide further information regarding climate change outside of the meeting.

Salaries and Bonuses – Members queried the level of bonuses and salaries paid to senior staff. Mike Russell explained that Southern Water has not paid dividends to its stakeholders in the last 8 years however salaries needed to be competitive to ensure senior staff were able to improve the business.

Reed Street, Cliffe pumping station – Members were disappointed that the pumping station was not on the list for planned maintenance and asked if it would be in future. Paul Morgan offered to find out about the location and report back to Members.

Co-ordination of works/road resurfacing – Members expressed concern about works on roads that have recently been resurfaced or worked on and queried whether any lessons could be learned. The Committee were informed that officers do collaborate with Southern Water as well as other utility companies regarding planned works, however emergency works did arise and need to be repaired as soon as possible. Officers explained that the repairs made to road surfaces following works had to be to the same standard as prior to the works and they were inspected and corrected if not sufficient.

Customer Scrutiny Committee – Members queried how the Customer Scrutiny Committee that was chaired by Councillor McDonald would make a difference. Mike Russell explained that the Chairperson has met with the Chief Executive at Southern Water and site visits were planned to ensure the panel understood the business and the challenges it faced so that they were best placed to challenge Southern Water. Mike offered to come back to Members with more information on how the panel’s work will feed into an executive level.

Percentage of overall investment for Medway – Members queried how much of the overall investment was planned to be spent in Medway and Mike Russell agreed to come back to Members on this.

Housing development and water supply – Southern Water informed the Committee that they have a 5, 10, 25 and 50 year plan and would share the plan with Members.

Impact of NationaI Insurance rises on investment – Mike Russell agreed to come back to Members with information on this.

Employment opportunities and Apprenticeships for Medway Residents - Mike Russell agreed to respond to Members outside of the meeting.

Helping residents to lower bills – Mike Russell informed the Committee that there were dedicated customer service officers to assist residents and will provide Members with further information about the help and assistance that was available.

Decisions:

a)    The Committee is asked to note the comments from Southern Water in response to the Member’s item.

b)    Southern Water were requested to provide further information  in response to Members queries including meeting with officers regarding the Pentagon Centre flooding, low water pressure at Allhallows, Reed Street pumping station, supply for new homes, percentage of investment in Medway and employment opportunities and apprenticeships.