Eight councils across the south have entered partnerships with Southern Water to help create greener roads, improve drainage and, importantly, work together on reducing storm overflows. 

The following councils have signed up: 

• Kent County Council 
• Medway Council 
• Hampshire County Council 
• Portsmouth City Council 
• Brighton and Hove Council
• West Sussex County Council 
• Isle of Wight Council 
• Southampton City Council  

The agreements focus on creating more sustainable urban drainage systems (SuDS) - natural solutions like swales, tree pits and raingardens that help tackle flooding and reduce storm overflows by preventing excess surface water from entering combined sewer systems. 

Construction has just finished on Hampshire’s first roadside SuDs at Westborn Road in Fareham, a project shaped by feedback from local residents. It is hoped that similar projects can now roll out across Sussex and Kent, working in closer collaboration with local councils to find nature-based solutions to reducing surface water getting into sewers across the region.

 Director for Environment and Innovation at Southern Water, Nick Mills said: 

“Having close relationships with councils is crucial in our mission to create healthier rivers and seas. These agreements open up an exciting opportunity to work side by side on practical, nature‑based solutions that cut storm overflows, strengthen our climate resilience and make a real difference for local communities. By joining forces, we can move faster, innovate more and deliver the cleaner environment we all want to see.”