South East Water has published Supply Incident Response Research, dated September 2023, examining how customers experience its communications during water supply incidents. The company says the work followed a high number of incidents in late 2022 in which customers experienced water supply loss.
The report, published on the company's website, sets out findings on the customer communication journey for different types of supply incident and identifies where that journey can be improved. South East Water commissioned Blue Marble to carry out the research. The method was an online qualitative process with household customers, covering a weeklong online qualitative community and online focus groups that reconvened community participants.
"Following a high number of incidents in late 2022, where customers experienced water supply loss, we sought to improve incident communication planning."
The report itself is available to download from the company's website1. The number of incidents in late 2022, the areas affected, how many customers lost supply and for how long have not been reported in the published summary. The research does not set out specific changes to the company's incident communication planning; it presents insights on the customer communication journey and where it can be improved1.
Why it matters for households
The research concerns household customers of South East Water who lose their supply during an incident, and how the company contacts them while that is happening. The company's stated aim is to improve incident communication planning, so the practical effect for households would be in the information they receive during a supply loss. What customers are told, by which channel and at what point in an incident is not set out in the published summary, and no revised procedures or timescales have been reported. Households wanting to know how their water company would contact them during an incident can read the guide to how your water company will contact you in an incident, and how companies respond to a major incident is covered in the guide to water company incident response. The water hub covers wider household water preparedness.
What happens next
No next steps have been reported. The report is dated September 2023 and is available to download from South East Water's website1.
Sources (1)
- Supply Incident Response Research | South East Water, southeastwater.co.uk
