Our coverage of the water outage in Tunbridge Wells and some of the surrounding villages is finishing for the day.

At the time of writing, South East Water says 5,000 properties have had supplies restored and work is ongoing to restore supply to 18,000 more. The water firm this will be done by 08:00 GMT on Tuesday.

You can read back through this feed or click here to catch up on the days events.

We will be back with updates in the morning.

BBC Radio Kent

Thousands of homes remain without water for a third day due to an issue at a South East Water treatment works near Tunbridge Wells.

Three bottled water stations have reopened in the town.

Some residents have complaint about long queues and a lack of bottles when they get to the station.

South East Water says customers who have no mains water are entitled to £50 for each continuous 12-hour period.

John Vinson, head of company engagement at the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), said: "Whether a person is entitled to a payment and the amount will depend on how long they were left without water.

"Payments are made automatically in instances where a customer is eligible."

There is no mention of compensation for businesses on the South East Water website.

We've now had an additional statement from South East Water, confirming that more than 5,000 properties have had their supplies restored.

South East Water’s Incident Manager Matthew Dean, said more were anticipated to see their drinking water return throughout the night and into Tuesday morning.

"The number of properties currently without water is around 18,000," he said.

“As water supplies return, customers may experience discolouration. This is normal and happens when naturally-occurring deposits, which settle and build up within our network of water mains over time, are disturbed.

“Our Pembury treatment site is now back up and running after it stopped working on Saturday night due to a water quality issue."

Tunbridge Wells MP Mike Martin, who earlier called for the resignation of the South East Water chief executive, has said that 5,000 properties have seen their returns supply.

In a post on social media, he also said water stations would reopen tomorrow to make sure "all water is in" before they are removed.

Image source, PA Media

Thank you for your messages about how the water supply problems are impacting you. Here's what some of you had to say:

• Richard from Lincoln said his 87-year-old mother lives in Tunbridge Wells and had "had no water since early Sunday morning". She is relying on neighbours to get her fresh water and he will "have to take a day off tomorrow and come and get her" if the outage continues. "It’s not good enough," he added.
• One reader told us: "We are a family of three with an 11-year-old boy and our flat is so dirty, as we can't wash anything. The traffic is so bad that it took us 45 minutes to get school, even though it usually only takes us 10."
• Another added: "I know emergencies can occur, but the most frustrating thing is that we haven’t been able to plan accordingly because South East Water keep moving the goalposts. Had they simply told us at the beginning it would likely take 2-3 days to fix, we could have planned accordingly and stayed with family. Do we now pack up and stay elsewhere or will if really be fixed tomorrow?"

Keep your messages coming.

You can WhatsApp, external us on 08081 002250 or email us at [email protected]

The MP for Tunbridge Wells has called for resignation of David Hinton, but who is he?

David Hinton is the current chief executive of South East Water, having taken over in 2020.

In an interview with BBC South East in August 2024, he said the company had been "caught on the hop" by the speed of climate change.

The firm introduced a hosepipe ban in July 2025 due to hot weather and high demand for water, but this is yet to be lifted.

South East Water missed its 14:00 GMT estimate for restoring water supplies in Tunbridge Wells, and has revised the deadline to 08:00 GMT on Tuesday.

My flat in Tunbridge Wells is among the thousands of homes that still don't have running water.

I've been brushing my teeth with bottled water and skipped the last couple of showers.

I have held off doing dishes to conserve my bottled water, but since the supply now looks unlikely to return until tomorrow at the earliest I may have to boil some in the kettle to wash up a couple of pans.

We want to hear how the ongoing water supply problems are impacting you. You can WhatsApp, external us on 08081 002250 or email us at [email protected]

Earlier, we asked if South East Water wanted to comment on Mike Martin MP calling for its chief executive, David Hinton, to resign.

The company has sent us this response:

Image source, PA Media

South East Water's head of operations, Steve Andrews, has been speaking to BBC Radio Kent in the last few minutes. This is what he has been saying:

• Questions over the future of company boss David Hinton are "not our focus at the moment"
• Staff are "working hard around the clock" to restore supplies, with "rigorous" tests required before water can leave Pembury Water Treatment Works
• Changing predictions for when the issue will be resolved are because it is "really difficult to give accurate timescales in these scenarios"
• The company "thought we found the problem" but "clearly we've had a number of setbacks, which has delayed that recovery"
• The Pembury site has been running for the last 18 hours, gradually bringing customers back into supply.

• The company is asking for "more funding to make the system more resilient"

Phil Harrison
in Tunbridge Wells

Phil Harrison
in Tunbridge Wells

Terry Walpole spoke to BBC Radio Kent after showering at the gym near the Knights Way bottled water station in Tunbridge Wells.

"We haven't had any water since Saturday morning," he said.

Mr Walpole says he owns a small water butt, which he has been using to flush the toilet, and "managed to make a few cups of tea" from bottled water.

"It's just the uncertainty of not knowing when it's going to end is the big problem," he added.

Image source, PA Media

Residents of Tunbridge Wells who have been without water have told us of "poor communication" from South East Water, as the estimated time of water supplies being restored keeps getting moved back.

We put these points to South East Water and asked them for a response.

A spokesperson said: “We're very sorry to all our customers in Tunbridge Wells who remain without water or have low pressure on Monday.

“Customers are beginning to see supplies gradually return, however we do not expect the majority of customers to have their drinking water fully restored until Tuesday morning, with the network likely to recharge overnight.

"We are taking a measured approach to restoring supplies to ensure there are no further issues and supplies do not become intermittent.

"We know how tough it is to be without water and we are doing all we can to restore supplies to customers as soon as possible."

Here's the latest information we have about the water supply problems in and around Tunbridge Wells:

• Thousands of homes remain without water for a third day due to an issue at a treatment works in Pembury.
• Local residents say the situation is "difficult", with many not able to flush toilets and having to find other arrangements to shower.
• South East Water is running three bottled water distribution points until 22:00 GMT.
• The company previously predicted supply would be restored this afternoon, but now says the issue won't be fixed until 08:00 on Tuesday.
• Tunbridge Wells MP Mike Martin has called for the resignation of South East Water chief executive David Hinton. We have contacted the company for comment.

Read more here.

We've heard from the Consumer Council for Water, a consumer group that acts on behalf of water customers.

The group says whether customers are entitled to compensation will depend on how long they are left without water, and payments are made automatically when a customer is eligible.

In November, the group rated South East Water "poor", external for the number of hours lost to water supply interruptions, and its overall service was rated as "moderate", based on customer surveys.

Traffic is currently building in the centre of Tunbridge Wells, as people attempt to access bottled water stations to stock up for another night without water.

MP Mike Martin said the town had been "gridlocked" in the last 24 hours, while we have heard from people who have opted to walk to water stations, rather than sit in traffic.

Others have told us of waits of an hour to receive water.

We have been hearing from those affected by the water outage in Tunbridge Wells. Here is what you have told us:

• Disgusting in Tunbridge Wells! No showers, toilets or water have meant my flat mate and I have had to abandon the town. I worry for my elderly neighbours who don't have the option of just getting out of town.
• I am a resident of Tunbridge Wells and we have a three-year-old child. We have been without water for three days and this means we cannot flush our toilet let alone wash pans or have a shower.
• Schools are closed so we have our child at home, cannot clean dishes, flush the loo or cook properly. We are running out of clean dishes to use. Yesterday the water bottle queue took us over an hour to go through, only to get 12 bottles for a family of three. I cannot afford to go out again to fetch for more as I need to work while caring for the child.

We want to hear how the ongoing water supply problems are impacting you.

You can WhatsApp, external us on 08081 002250 or email us at [email protected]

Michael Keohan
Kent political reporter

In our interview with Mike Martin MP, he said that vulnerable people and care homes had been left without water, while Tunbridge Wells had been brought to a standstill as people queued to get into water stations.

He told BBC Radio Kent: "Businesses have been closed, restaurants have lost thousands of pounds. This is an utter disgrace and he must resign."

Martin reassured his constituents that he would not rest until South East Water chief executive David Hinton had left his position, adding that there were "lots of levers", including the water minister and Ofwat, that he would be pursuing.

South East Water has been approached for comment.

Michael Keohan
Kent political reporter

Tunbridge Wells MP Mike Martin has described the situation in the town as "nothing short of shambolic".

He has called for the resignation of South East Water chief executive David Hinton.

"He earns half a million pounds a year. This is a total failure of leadership," Martin said.

"This has happened before, he promised to the public and me in private that lessons had been learnt.

"Those claims are totally false and he should resign now."