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Thousands of people across Kent and Sussex are currently experiencing water outages, with disruptions expected to last through the weekend, according to South East Water (SEW). The problem primarily affects customers in Maidstone, covering areas from Hollingbourne to Headcorn and surrounding villages. These issues stem from operational difficulties encountered by Southern Water, which supplies treated water to SEW’s network. Since early Saturday, approximately 4,500 residents have been impacted by the lack of water supply.
In addition to Maidstone, around 16,500 homes in and around East Grinstead, Sussex, are also facing no water or significantly reduced pressure. Steve Andrews, SEW’s incident manager, explained that the low or interrupted supply results from Southern Water temporarily halting the delivery of treated water, which typically amounts to over 20 million litres daily. This cessation has led to a depletion of storage reservoirs within the affected areas, causing further supply challenges. Southern Water has yet to provide comments regarding the situation.
Earlier this week, SEW’s network suffered multiple burst water mains due to recent freeze/thaw conditions, further worsening the supply issues. The arrival of Storm Goretti on Thursday also hindered water treatment efforts, reducing the ability to refill storage reservoirs at the usual pace. A spokesperson from SEW noted, “Storm Goretti has affected our ability to treat water at the normal rate. Coupled with the outbreak of burst water mains on our network due to the freeze/thaw conditions being experienced across Kent, our drinking water storage levels are running low.” This combination of factors means that some customers, particularly those in Hollingbourne and higher ground locations, may face intermittent supply, low pressure, or no water throughout the weekend.
To alleviate the impact, South East Water has been reallocating water from other parts of its network and deploying tankers to inject water directly where needed. A bottled water distribution point has been established at Headcorn Aerodrome, and deliveries of bottled water are being prioritized for vulnerable customers. Meanwhile, Maidstone Borough Council has advised food businesses without running water to close temporarily for hygiene reasons. In nearby Tunbridge Wells, residents have been notified of ongoing supply interruptions expected to last until Tuesday. Mike Martin, the town’s MP, told the BBC that the water supply “going on and off” is making it “quite hard to plan your life.” SEW expects the network to stabilize with normal flow restored by 13 January but warns that, until then, customers may see water only in the mornings and none during afternoons and evenings. A spokesperson emphasized that “this is not the level of service we want to provide, but we believe this is the quickest way to return water supplies to normal.”
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
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