Customer Update
We have prepared this short newsletter in order to reassure all of our stakeholders that for us it is ‘business as usual’ and that our teams are working 24/7 to deliver our water service. In addition we are putting in place arrangements to help and support our most challenged and vulnerable customers during this difficult period. As a 160 year old, local water company we care passionately about the communities we serve and are doing all we can to help.
Due to the increased Coronavirus measures in the UK, we are taking precautions and putting the safety of our staff first. We currently wish to prioritise our vulnerable customers and deal with emergencies only. We are asking customers to take a look at our FAQ’s or email us at [email protected] before calling us.
We know it’s a worrying time, and we’re here to support you. If you do need to call it may take longer than normal for us to answer.
For Coronavirus advice please go to: www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
Dear Customers,
This short note is designed to update you with what we at Portsmouth Water are doing to protect our customers and staff from Coronavirus, whilst at the same time making sure we continue to provide our essential water service. You may have seen our previous assurances that your tap water remains perfectly safe to drink and there is no risk of contracting the virus through it.
We know you understand this is a challenging time but we wish to assure you that we have robust business continuity plans in place to keep our services running which have been operating for some time now.
We are following government health advice to make sure our customers and our people stay safe, at the same time making sure we continue to deliver our critical services to you. This might mean we need to change the way we do things for a while such as prioritising emergency work in order to focus on ensuring water gets to customer taps 24 hours a day 7 days a week as normal. Due to increased call volumes and transferring as many of our staff as possible to home working answering telephone calls may take a little longer than we would like. So we ask for patience and understanding as we work as best we can in this difficult situation.
The health, safety and wellbeing of our employees is really important to us, and we’re asking for your help and support to protect them. If we are due to visit your home for emergency work and you’re unwell or self-isolating for precautionary reasons, please let us know. We are taking ample precautions but if you’re due a visit from one of our teams and would rather postpone, we’ll understand completely and will be happy to rearrange.
I understand that at this difficult time the last thing people want to be worrying about is how they are going to pay their bills. So please get in touch if you are worried about your water bill at https://portsmouthwater.co.uk/customer-services/problems-paying/ or give us a call on 023 92 499888. We want to help and we will do everything we can to put your mind at ease.
In addition if you have underlying health conditions, poor mobility or other health or vulnerability challenges please sign up for our priority services at www.portsmouthwater.co.uk/customer-services/priority-services/. In doing this you can help us make sure we can get water to you as a priority in an emergency.
Our links to the communities we serve at Portsmouth Water have always been very strong and it fills me with immense pride and admiration to see how our staff are responding to this health emergency by working long hours under abnormal circumstances to ensure we continue to provide the high quality service you expect. We’ll keep our communication channels updated and will let you know whenever further relevant information or guidance is needed.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation, by working together in a spirit of kindness and understanding we can all beat this thing. Stay safe, stay healthy and make sure you heed all of the guidance!
Bob Taylor, CEO, Portsmouth Water