Ongoing Water Supply Disruptions in Kent
Thousands of properties continue to experience disruptions to their tap water following several days of supply problems.
South East Water reported that nearly 800 properties remained without water supply in the Wraik Hill and Cranbrook areas of Kent as of Sunday.
The company also indicated that almost 4,000 properties across the county "may be experiencing low pressure or an intermittent supply during the day."
Bottle collection points reopened on Sunday after thousands of customers in Kent began facing dry taps on 23 May.
Areas affected by intermittent supplies include Coxheath, Loose, Headcorn, Ulcombe, Benenden, Kemsing, Mereworth, and Wittersham, according to South East Water.
Company Response and Current Situation
Incident manager Mike Court stated:
"Although our network is continuing to recover, levels of drinking water in our storage tanks are still low and we are asking customers to use water for essential purposes only."
South East Water confirmed that overnight repairs to a burst main in Canterbury restored supply to customers in parts of the city who had no water on Saturday.
However, Court noted that drinking water storage tanks in both Wraik Hill and Cranbrook were at "a critical level."
"We are sincerely sorry to customers for disruption to their water supply and know how frustrating it is, especially in hot weather," he added.
The water company also reported that supply had been restored to affected properties in Whitstable and Herne Bay on Saturday. They continue to support the Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital in Herne Bay and local livestock owners with tanker deliveries.
Staff have distributed one million litres of bottled water and used tankers to supply more than 2.4 million litres to the network, according to the company.
At the peak of the recent incidents, an estimated 18,000 properties experienced supply issues.
Warnings and Previous Incidents
South East Water has warned customers about notices circulating on social media and being posted through letterboxes that "pretend to be from South East Water" but contain "incorrect information" which should be disregarded.
The company has been under scrutiny since November, when 24,000 customers in the Tunbridge Wells area lost water supply or pressure.
Following that incident, customers were advised to boil their water before consumption for nine days after supply was restored.
Weeks later, approximately 30,000 households in Kent and Sussex experienced days of supply issues, which the company attributed to freezing temperatures and Storm Goretti.
In response to these failures, South East Water announced the departure of its chair and that its chief executive would also leave.
Regulatory Actions and Financial Impact
The regulator Ofwat recently proposed fining South East Water £22 million over supply issues occurring between 2020 and 2023.
On Thursday, Moody's downgraded South East Water's credit rating, citing the "fallout" from supply failures and the "continued resilience risk the company faces."
The company confirmed that this downgrade affected the conditions of its licence and stated it was "constructively engaging" with Ofwat to "agree certain commitments that will secure a return to compliance."
Contact and Further Information
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