Source: United Kingdom UK Parliament (video statements)
After tens of thousands of residents in Kent were left without drinking water for 14 days due to failures at a treatment centre, David Hinton, the Chief Executive of the water company that oversaw the problems, will face questions from MPs on the EFRA Committee.
Also appearing will be Marcus Rink, Chief Inspector of the Drinking Water Inspectorate, which launched an ongoing investigation on 4 December. The organisation warned South East Water in 2024 of a significant risk of failure at the Pembury treatment centre.
In this session, the witnesses are likely to be asked questions about the planning, resilience and capacity of the supplier’s infrastructure, as well as communications with the public and leadership.
The Committee is undertaking a long-term inquiry and last year published a report, Priorities for water sector reform. The Committee recently wrote to water companies about their approaches to recovering debts from vulnerable customers.