Annual results: A strong year for Wessex Water with clear areas of improvement ahead

• Wessex Water continues decades-long strong performance in customer satisfaction.

• Boost in sewerage investment delivers a clear reduction in sewer flooding incidents affecting customers’ properties.

• Further improvements needed to drive down leakage and pollution incidents, as Chief Executive remains committed to delivering on the issues that matter most to customers.

Wessex Water has maintained its longstanding track record of industry-leading performance in the first year of the 2025-30 regulatory period (AMP8), with annual results showing targets exceeded across a range of key measures, including customer experience, sewer spills and water supply interruptions.

However, the company recognises that it has fallen short in some areas, most notably leakage levels and serious pollution incidents. The Board acknowledges there remains more to do and is committed to improving performance further.

During the first year of AMP8, Wessex Water invested £476.5m in its infrastructure and assets, the highest level of investment in the first year of any regulatory cycle in the company’s history. Its turnover increased to £797.5m in 2025/26 from £652.6m in 2024/25, with a profit of £95.8m before tax. No dividends were declared this year, and profit will reinvested back into the company.

Good news for customers and the environment

Frequently praised for its strong customer service and high satisfaction levels, Wessex Water once again topped Ofwat’s annual Customer Measure of Experience (C-MeX) league table for customer service and placed second overall out of all water and sewerage companies in England and Wales.

Support for vulnerable customers has never been more important amidst ongoing economic turmoil and rising costs of living. Wessex Water now has 87,000 customers receiving help with their water bills through its ‘Help to Pay’ programme, an increase of more than 30,000 in the last five years.

Despite an increase in customer contacts about their water quality, Wessex Water was recently named the best performing water and sewerage company across three key metrics in the Drinking Water Inspectorate’s annual report. These were water sample compliance, responses to incidents and how it processes formal feedback from the regulator.

The company also made good progress across its sewerage network, reporting a continued reduction in sewer flooding incidents both inside and outside customers’ properties. This improvement has been driven by enhanced technology that identifies potential blockages before they occur, alongside greater awareness amongst customers of how to dispose of ‘unflushables’ such as wet wipes to keep them out of the network.

Wessex Water also recorded a significant reduction in discharges from its licensed storm overflows – an issue it knows customers care deeply about. While weather conditions influence these figures, significant investment in additional sewer storage capacity and nature-based solutions has been critical in driving this improvement.

Chief Executive Ruth Jefferson said: “I’m proud of the progress we have made in the first year of AMP8 and the scale of investment we’ve already delivered to transform our operations.

“Of course, none of this progress would be possible without the commitment, skill, and professionalism of our people. We know that we need to invest in our future workforce, as well as our current one, to remain industry leading. That’s why we’re expanding our early careers and apprenticeship programmes to provide more practical skills, long‑term career opportunities and greater resilience for the business.”

Feeling the force of climate change

Climate change continues to present significant challenges for the water industry. Over the past 12 months, the Wessex Water region has experienced one of the driest summers and wettest winters on record.

These extreme conditions caused ground movement across the region, placing additional pressure on water pipes, leading to an increase in leakage.

At the same time, with more dry weather comes more demand for water. To combat this, Wessex Water is continuing to invest in its water supply network while helping customers to understand and drive down their water usage. During the year, the company installed 50,000 smart meters in areas where water is most scarce.

By 2035, every home that Wessex Water supplies that can have a smart meter will have one installed.

More frequent intense storms and heavy rainfall events also contributed to the company missing its pollution targets. While the overall number of pollutions reduced compared with the previous year, four serious pollutions were recorded.

Mrs Jefferson said: “We know we must do better on pollution incidents, particularly those with potentially serious environmental consequences, where our target is always zero. We also know we need to reduce leakage levels.

“While weather conditions are a major factor in both areas, we can’t simply blame climate change. We have to become better at adapting to its impacts. We’re making targeted operational and infrastructure improvements now to deliver the performance our customers and the environment expect in the years ahead.”