Schools closed in South East England because of problems with water supply
People affected by the shortage have been given bottled water to use instead
- Published
Problems with a water supplier in Kent and Sussex has meant that some schools aren't able to access water, with at least seven still shut.
It comes after days of water issues in the South East of England, whose water supply is managed by South East Water.
As well as schools, at least 25,000 customers still have little or no water at all, which is causing problems for businesses and homes.
South East Water has blamed low temperatures, leading to burst water pipes, and Storm Goretti, which it says has caused problems at water treatment works.
The company has said that it is "incredibly sorry to all customers and businesses who have been impacted by this" and it is working to get the water back on again "as soon as possible".
The government says the situation is "completely unacceptable" and has asked Ofwat, an organisation that makes sure water companies do their job properly, to investigate what's happened.
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This headteacher says that the water problems have "lots of knock-on effects" for pupils
The disruption has meant that people in the affected areas can't use normal facilities like the shower or toilet because there isn't any water.
Normal service has been returned to at least 5,000 customers so far.
Primary headteacher Mrs Sanchez Daviu has told the BBC that, for her school, this water is "cloudy and undrinkable".
She says that she's having to spend school money on buying water from a supermarket.
South East Water has been opening bottled water stations in the areas affected so that people can access clean water.
The water disruption has led to some pupils being unable to go into school
Nicola Higgins, a spokesperson for South East Water, has said: "We are doing everything that we can to move water around the network to minimise the impact to customers.
"We've seen a fivefold increase in the level of leaks and bursts in our area.
"Some of it is due to the fact we need to work on our resilience in this area, but a lot of it is due to things that aren't necessarily within our control."
It comes after 24,000 South East Water customers were left without water before Christmas last year.
