Water CEO Gives Up Bonus After Major Outages Hit Kent

When your tap runs dry and schools close because there's no water to flush the toilets, someone needs to step up and take responsibility.

David Hinton, the chief executive of South East Water, just did exactly that. He announced he won't accept any performance bonus for the 2025/2026 financial year after major outages left thousands of customers across Kent and Sussex without drinking water.

The disruptions hit hard in November, December, and January. Families couldn't shower or bathe. Toilets wouldn't flush. Schools had to send kids home.

"We recognize the serious impact this has had on our customers and know that we fell short of what is expected of us," Hinton said in a statement Tuesday. His base salary is £400,000, and he received a £115,000 bonus last year.

The announcement came after Hinton appeared before Parliament's Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee. MPs grilled him and company chairman Chris Train about the firm's response to the water supply failures.

Train revealed during the hearing that Hinton had already indicated he wouldn't accept a bonus this year, even before the board made a final decision. When pressed whether the board would have given him one anyway, Train simply said "no."

Why This Inspires

Corporate accountability doesn't always make headlines, but it matters deeply when it happens. Hinton could have accepted a bonus and weathered the criticism, but he chose differently.

His decision won't restore water to homes retroactively or undo the hardship families faced. But it sends a clear message that leadership means owning failures, not just celebrating wins.

The company is now bringing in external hires to strengthen its executive team. Train told MPs the board is committed to doing "what is best for South East Water customers" going forward.

Actions speak louder than apologies, and sometimes the right action is admitting you don't deserve a reward for a year when you let people down.