A SENIOR Southern Water manager came under fire at a public meeting for its recent poor performance and treatment of the environment.

Critics included TV journalist Georgie Palmer and actor James Murray.

Toby Willison, director of environment, spoke at a city council meeting and was grilled for more than an hour by more than 10 members of the public and local councillors.

The company has recently had to switch off water to thousands of households for the second time in two months and faced criticism for raw sewage flowing into chalk streams such as the Test, Itchen and Meon.

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Dr Willison was speaking at the Winchester City Council health and environment committee last night.

BBC journalist Georgie Palmer, who lives in Twyford, said she and her husband had a monthly date not to go for a meal but to clear raw sewage from drains outside their house.

She told Dr Willison that she was a keen open water swimmer and added: "I would rather swim in the Channel every day than in the River Itchen. I see how disgusting it is. What are you going to do? We are going to hear about long-term plans but what is happening in the next six months? Don't fob us off."

Ms Palmer also read out a question from actor James Murray, a keen angler, who called on Southern water to work with anglers in the same way that companies now do with Surfers Against Sewage for problems at sea.

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Dr Willison, a former senior executive of the Environment Agency, said Southern Water had a problem with Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO) which happen after heavy rainfall exceeding the capacity of pipes. He said the company was working to address the issue that climate change was worsening with an increase of intense spells of rain.

He said water companies were in an "arms race" with climate change, having to increase its plans as the global crisis deepens.

He faced questions about Southern water allowing phosphates into rivers notably from farming activities.

Dr Martin Burton said parts of the Itchen such as near Ovington were in poor condition. "Waste water from Alresford treatment works is getting into the chalk aquifer that feeds the river. This is a timebomb".

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He called on Southern Water to install a phosphate stripper at the Alresford works to tackle the issue, that had been raised by the late Lord Chidgey.

Frances Strange, chair of Compton and Shawford Parish Council, said the company's environment record was "abysmal" and criticised it for its response to the water outages that left vulnerable people, many with health conditions, without any water for several days.

Dr Willison said the company needed to do more to establish who the vulnerable people are.

Graham Horton, of Natural England, said the environmental crisis needed to be addressed, not least by the public and the need to stop putting wet wipes, oil and grease down the drains.