South East Water customers cut off again

People are without water in Kent and East Sussex once again following major supply issues last month.

South East Water (SEW) said 6,500 customers in south Tunbridge Wells and Frant had no water on Wednesday, while those in Bidborough would have intermittent supplies throughout the day.

It blamed a "series of burst water mains" on its network due to the cold weather for the issues which began on Tuesday.

The beleaguered water company has apologised to those affected.

It said that Tunbridge Wells and Frant customers would be without water until Thursday, after having previously suggested that supplies could be restored by Wednesday night.

It comes after 24,000 properties in Tunbridge Wells, Pembury, Eridge and Frant lost supply or pressure for days between November and December, following a "water quality issue" at a SEW treatment works in Pembury.

SEW boss David Hinton - who earns a base salary of £400,000 and got a £115,000 bonus last year - was grilled by MPs on Tuesday about the crisis.

He has previously vowed to remain in his post, amid calls from local MP Mike Martin to resign.

SEW said it had set up bottled water stations at Tunbridge Wells Rugby Football Club and Bidborough Village Hall after the latest disruption.

Water is being delivered to priority customers, it added.

"Our water treatment works in the area are working at full capacity and tankers are pumping water directly into the storage tanks and the network to restore supplies as quickly as possible," said SEW incident manager Nick Bell earlier on Wednesday.

"We also have teams working round the clock repairing leaks and bursts," he continued.

Bob Waller, who lives in Tunbridge Wells, said the water pressure at his home was low, describing the situation as "the problem that doesn't go away".

Another man, who was at a bottled water station in the town, added his supply has returned, but he is unsure if he can trust that it is safe to drink.

"We'll probably just continue to drink bottled water until [SEW] says it's fine," he said.

SEW issued a boil water notice for nine days amid last month's supply issues.

SEW boss Hinton apologised and admitted the crisis was a "failure".

He said the outage was caused by a coagulant not performing as it should at the treatment works, which could have potentially compromised disinfection.

But this was disputed by the chief inspector at the Drinking Water Inspectorate, Marcus Rink, who said SEW was "flying blind" before December's crisis.

The problem began almost three weeks before the company declared the emergency, he said.

In a letter to SEW, the chair of the select committee, Alistair Carmichael, said there were "serious questions about the accuracy and intent of the information" provided by Hinton.

SEW said it was currently reviewing the letter.

In 2023, SEW was found to be the worst company for supply interruptions in the UK.

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