“I seem to be reporting on it every week,” Gazette reporter Matt Rooks-Taylor told him, citing Southern Water, Thames Water and South East Water, and repeated over‑abstraction and sewage discharges. "It really is quite disgusting, and it actually speaks to – it's one of those, I think – like potholes: it is crap in our rivers. South East Water has said immediately stopping abstraction could affect up to 9,563 customers locally and potentially a further 61,363 in the wider Basingstoke area. "We're investing in major projects to help protect Hampshire's internationally important chalk streams, including the River Test and River Itchen, and reduce our reliance on them. South East Water's head of water resources, Nick Price, said: "South East Water is a drinking water only company.