Southern Water to invest £540m in sewer improvement
ReutersSouthern Water has awarded contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds to improve how it handles sewage.
The water company said it signed deals with three companies to "boost" its wastewater network performance across the South East.
The total value of the contracts is approximately £540m, it added.
Sewage spills in Sussex and water outages in Kent have sparked anger in recent months.
Southern Water said the money will be spent on sewer rehabilitation, maintenance, manholes and sewer sealing.
The contracts start in April, the water company said.
Southern Water attracted anger after it was reported in December that water bills would increase by more than £200 by the end of the decade.
Southern Water's CEO Lawrence Gosden said in December the investment was "essential" to improve performance and infrastructure.
He added that the water company was "significantly expanding the wide range of support available for those customers who are most in need."
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