CAMPAIGNERS have vented their anger and disbelief after it emerged that Southern Water has been shortlisted for three environmental awards.

The company could collect a handful of gongs at this year's Water Industry Awards (WIA), despite months of controversy over sewage spills, leaking pipes, and water supply failures.

In 2021 Southern Water was fined a record £90m for dumping raw sewage into rivers and coastal waters.

The company admitted almost 7,000 illegal discharges from 16 wastewater treatment works between 2010 and 2015, including several sites in the Southampton area.

Daily Echo: Protesters take to the streets to complain about raw sewage being discharged into the River Itchen in SouthamptonProtesters take to the streets to complain about raw sewage being discharged into the River Itchen in Southampton (Image: Newsquest)

Alan Whitehead, Labour MP for Southampton Test, described the potential awards as a "kick in the teeth" for local residents.

"I fail to understand how a company fined £90m for polluting our rivers with raw sewage can be held up as best practice," he said.

"Southern Water are proving to be bad for the local environment and even worse neighbours."

READ MORE: Southern Water fined a record £90m for dumping raw sewage into waterways

A spokesperson for the national campaign group Surfers Against Sewage added: "We would not class 5,637 sewage pollution alerts already this year as award-winning. This is shockingly out of touch with Southern Water’s shameful track record."

Daily Echo: Water supply failures in the Southampton resulted in bottled water stations being set upWater supply failures in the Southampton resulted in bottled water stations being set up (Image: Newsquest)

Totton county councillor David Harrison was equally unimpressed.

He said: "I would give them a special award for taking full advantage of their monopoly position and shamelessly rewarding their top bosses with huge pay awards whilst failing in their duty to protect our environment."

Campaigners claim sewage has often been discharged in Bartley Park, Totton.

Dave Young, of Friends of Bartley Park, said: "After the last spillage I approached Souhern Water for advice and help. They basically said 'not our problem, speak to the Environment Agency'.

"We are a small group who care about the park and the river, and they obviously don't."

READ MORE: Southern Water customers hit out after taps run dry again

Royston Smith, Tory MP for Southampton Itchen, acknowledged the recent spate of controversies involving Southern Water.

But he added: "We shouldn’t link the decisions taken at a senior level to cloud our opinion about how hard other water company employees are working."

The awards will be announced in Birmingham later this month.

Southern Water could be recognised for initiatives that include supplying residents with water butts and setting up its "clean rivers and seas" task force.

The company is determined to cut the use of storm overflows, which result in sewage being discharged into waterways during heavy rain to prevent the drainage system from backing up.

A Southern Water spokesperson said: "These are water industry trade awards in which our teams have been shortlisted for their sector-leading efforts in exploring innovative engineering and nature-based solutions to the use of storm overflows, and to protect and enhance our environment. 

"We are working hard to improve our performance across our water and wastewater networks, to meet the expectations of our customers.

"This is why we are investing £2bn between 2020 and 2025, the equivalent of £1,000 per household, and have not paid an external dividend to shareholders since 2017."