David Hinton resigns as South East Water chief after 30,000 outages
south east water chief executive David Hinton has resigned after repeated supply failures left up to 30,000 properties in Kent and Sussex facing water problems. He will stay in post for a transition period over the summer while the company changes leadership.
The company said Hinton stepped down because his role had become “an increasing distraction” from South East Water’s priority of providing a resilient water supply. Several MPs had called for him to go after the failures, which came after 24,000 properties in Kent and Sussex lost water or had low pressure in November and December.
South East Water chair change
Hinton’s resignation follows the departure of Chris Train, who resigned as chair seven days earlier. South East Water said Hinton will remain temporarily “to allow an orderly transition over the summer period,” giving the company time to manage the handover while it faces continued scrutiny over the winter supply problems.
Kent and Sussex supply failures
The latest leadership change comes after water supply problems hit tens of thousands of properties over winter. In November and December, 24,000 properties in Kent and Sussex lost water or had low pressure, and just weeks later up to 30,000 more properties were affected by further supply issues.
Interim chair Lisa Clement thanked Dave for “his many years of loyal dedication and service to South East Water.” For customers in the affected areas, the immediate change is at the top of the company, but the operational challenge remains the same: restoring confidence in the resilience of the supply after two waves of disruption over the winter.
