There is growing anger after thousands of homes were left without water in the county, with schools closed and a major incident declared.
Around 4,500 properties in the Harbledown, Canterbury, Maidstone, Tunbridge Wells, Headcorn, Hollingbourne, Kingswood, Sutton Valence, Sevenoaks and Ulcombe have been left with little or no water.
Several schools have confirmed they have had to close, including Speldhurst CofE Primary School, Langton Green Primary School, Claremont Primary School and Skinners’ Academy in Tunbridge Wells, Blean Primary School in Canterbury, Harrietsham CofE Primary School, Ulcombe CofE Primary School, Tiger Primary School in Loose and Leeds & Broomfield Cof E Primary School in Maidstone.
The government has called the ongoing situation “entirely unacceptable”, with several politicians also questioning the response to the crisis, including calling for the resignation of South East Water (SEW) boss David Hinton.
He appeared before a parliamentary committee last week to answer for the company’s poor performance before Christmas which saw 24,000 homes without water.
Maidstone MPs Helen Grant has followed Tunbridge Wells MP Mike Martin in calling for Mr Hinton to step down.
It is understood, Faversham and Mid Kent’s Helen Whately and Tonbridge’s Tom Tugendhat will be doing the same.
South East Water has been asked for a response to this.
The county has been hit by two issues affecting SEW and Southern Water.
SEW has seen low water pressure and no supplies due to a number of leaks resulting from the recent cold weather.
Southern Water has delivered bottled water to different areas following an issue at the Matts Hill Water Supply Works in Hartlip, near Sittingbourne, which stopped the site from producing water.
KCC leader Cllr Linden Kemkaran said last night that a major incident had been declared in the county.
To add to the problems a water bottle supply site at the St Marks Recreation, Ground in Tunbridge Wells has run out of supplies this morning.
The town’s MP Mike Martin said: “I’ve told SEW that the bottled water station at the rugby club has run out of water and urgently needs new supplies.
“Initially, they tried to bluff me and the minister that it was stocked, while we were all on a strategic response call, but now have admitted it isn’t. They are rushing supplies there.”
SEW incident manager Matthew Dean said: “We’re sorry to our customers who are experiencing issues with their drinking water supply, including no water, intermittent supply interruptions or low pressure.
“Following the recent cold weather and a subsequent breakout of leaks and bursts, our drinking water storage tanks are running very low and there are currently around 30,000 impacted properties across Kent and Sussex.
“This includes 16,500 properties in East Grinstead and the surrounding areas in Sussex, with parts of Tunbridge Wells also affected, along with some localised issues in other parts of Kent.
“We are incredibly sorry to all customers and businesses who have been impacted by this and we are doing all we can to restore supplies as soon as possible.
“Our water treatment works continue to operate at full capacity and tankers are pumping water directly into the storage tanks and network to increase the amount of water available in the affected areas.
“Our leak repair teams are working around the clock to fix the leaks and bursts across Kent and Sussex, with extra resources available to help carry out repairs.
“We will have bottled water stations open at the following locations from 9am until 10pm today at Tunbridge Wells Rugby Football Club, St Marks Recreation Ground, Tunbridge Wells TN2 5LS and Headcorn Aerodrome, Shenley Road, Ashford TN27 9HX.
A Southern Water spokesman said: “Storm Goretti, freezing conditions and a power outage in parts of Kent have resulted in reduced levels in some of our drinking water storage reservoirs. While this increases the risk of supply issues in the coming days, we are working around the clock to maintain service.
“We are moving water around our network and deploying tankers to keep supply stable. As a precaution, bottled water was delivered to customers on our Priority Services Register over the weekend. Deliveries to Sittingbourne have now been completed, while those in Thanet are paused as we support South East Water with their bottled water deliveries in areas currently without water.”
She said: “Once again, South East Water has failed, and once again there has been a shocking lack of leadership.
“This is not an isolated incident, it is now a familiar pattern across Kent and Sussex. It’s been like the nightmare before Christmas we experienced for 12 days in 2022. SEW have learned nothing.
“Again, families have been left without water for days. Again, schools have been forced to close. Again, vulnerable residents have had to travel to collect bottled water. And there’s been inadequate provision for farm animals and livestock.
“South East Water is failing at every level. How can anyone reasonably be expected to pay their water bills, let alone accept yet more price rises, when the company repeatedly fails to meet the most basic standards of service?
“I am tired of hearing excuses from the management team. Cold weather and rainfall in a British winter are not unexpected events – they are entirely foreseeable. Planning for them is a basic responsibility, not an optional extra. And when incidents do happen, communications are sparse and often unintelligible.
“What is needed now is real accountability and real change in how this company is needed, starting with the resignation of chief executive David Hinton.”
Su Molnar’s business was drastically impacted by the Tunbridge Wells crisis last month, and now she has been left without water at her home, 50 miles away in Rough Common, near Canterbury.
She said: “It’s been off since last night. We don’t know when it’s coming back on. If you don’t know when it’s coming back on, you can’t prepare, so I don’t know whether to go and buy loads of water,” said the 47-year-old, of Garden Close.
“I’m really, really angry, because the water bills have been going up and up and up and the service has been going down.”
Mrs Molnar runs Sumo Donuts in Tunbridge Wells, which was forced to close in the run-up to Christmas because of the water outages in the town.
“It’s our busiest trading time of the year,” she said. “We had to close because it’s a food business, so we couldn’t wash up, we couldn’t wash our hands, so that affected us majorly.”
Maria Culleton, who also lives in Rough Common, noticed she had lost her water supply when she went to make a cup of tea at 8.30am today.
“I went out to the shops as I thought I’d get some water, just in case,” said the 59-year-old.
“I don’t want to go and buy all the stocks up when there are other people who probably need it more than we do. We can manage – it’s just a pain, because you can’t get on with the washing and everything.
“It’s fine at the moment, but we don’t really know anyone well enough nearby to ask if we could go and use their shower. That would mean Ashford – my mate over in Ashford – and I don’t really want her to drive over. It’s not nice having to use somebody else’s washing facilities.”
John Douch, 76, from Rough Common, noticed the outage last night when he went to get a glass of water at 10pm. He says he has not received any information about local bottled water stations.
He said: “The text messages haven’t really said very much, apart from that there’s a problem and they don’t know when it’s going to be sorted. It could be today or tomorrow, as far as I understand.”
The landlord of the George Inn, Leeds, near Maidstone, says he lost two full days’ business over the weekend.
He discovered the water was off on Saturday morning and did not come back on until early this morning.
Jason Tharp said: “In January, we depend on the weekend trade to see us through the week.
“We’ve had to throw out all the food that we got in for the weekend bookings. We were pretty much fully booked.
“I don’t think we’ll get any compensation for the loss of trade as it was a South East Water emergency but we might be able to do it on our insurance which is a real pain.
“We still have no idea why we lost our water supply and we haven’t been told.”
Roger Perrum, of Rough Common Road, noticed his water had gone off at 10pm last night.
The 82-year-old has hit out at the lack of direct contact from South East Water, given his ill health.
“It’s frustrating, bearing in mind I’m on what they call their critical register because of my heart condition,” he said.
“I’ve had no contact at all and no water delivered.” He has also called for more clarity about the reasons for the outages.
“Last night they were telling us it was because of a power loss at the pumping station, but they’re not saying that this morning,” he said.
“This morning they’re saying there’s not enough water.
In a video on X, Cllr Kemkaran said South East Water and Southern Water areas in the county are affected.
She said: “Of course, at KCC we are doing everything we can to support the efforts to get the situation sorted, including chairing the multi-agency meetings that track the water companies’ efforts and hold them to account.
“Frustratingly, we don’t know how long this will go on for or exactly how many of us will be affected.”
Meanwhile, the Government has spoken of its ongoing worries about the situation, with Water Minister Emma Hardy saying: “I remain very concerned that people in several areas are experiencing water supply issues following both cold weather and Storm Goretti.
“This is entirely unacceptable. I held meetings with the water companies and local resilience forums over the weekend, and am meeting with them again today, to restore supplies as quickly as possible, prioritising vulnerable customers and essential public services.
“Action by this Government means compensation rates have increased for customers and businesses affected by disruption. It underlines why this government is prioritising investment in infrastructure to improve the resilience of our water system.”
Tonbridge MP Tom Tugendhat said yesterday afternoon, after a meeting with Ms Hardy and SEW chief executive David Hinton, “I made it extremely clear to South East Water how unacceptable I found their actions over the last few days.
“The cut off itself…but actually the communications that have resulted have been again, awful. This isn’t the first time I made it completely clear how badly managed I think they are.”
Green Party leader of Maidstone council Cllr Stuart Jeffery said: “It has been a tough weekend for thousands of residents across the borough. Water stopped flowing early on Saturday morning and people were without fresh water for 48 hours, and some places still have no water. This is unacceptable.
“When you combine the supply failures of South East Water with the equally appalling failure to treat sewage by Southern Water, it is clear that there is a systematic problem.
“This systematic problem is compounded by a lack of rainfall in Kent, something which is getting worse with climate change and which is something that both water companies and national government fail to properly acknowledge.
“It is quite clear that our water companies are failing the public and the environment. They need to be re-nationalised urgently and invested in properly. Alongside this we need a real change to the way we consume and dispose of water to ensure that people and the environment are protected properly.”
Speaking this morning, Faversham and Mid Kent MP Helen Whately said: “For SEW customers in my constituency: water is back on for many households in and around Hollingbourne and also Kingswood.
“But but – based on my inbox – people in Stockbury, some parts of Hollingbourne (e.g., Pilgrims Way), Thurnham and Ware Street don’t have water. I am waiting for updates from Harrietsham and Wormshill.”
Maidstone mayor Cllr Martin Round claims he inadvertently drank what he believes to be contaminated water on Friday night and made himself ill.
He said he had to offer his apologies for his absence at a mayoral event over the weekend.
Cllr Round, who lives in Headcorn, said: “I’m feeling a lot better now. It seems quite patchy in terms of who is affected.
“It’s the people living on the hills, places like Ulcombe, who seem to be getting it worst. I am hearing that people in the same street have got water and some people haven’t…the reports I have been getting have all been anecdotal.
“It’s becoming an endless pain the backside”
Gill Fort, a Leeds villager who is also a parish and borough councillor, said local people were taking water from the stream to fill up their toilet cisterns.
She said: “There is a little beck running through Leeds and people were taking buckets of water from that to fill up their toilets.
“I had to drive to Headcorn and get a supply from the aerodrome and the queue was enormous – about half an hour wait to get in. They gave me 12 two litre bottles.
“It’s just chaos, isn’t it…and it’s so widespread. I don’t think the amount of house building in Kent has helped. We’re forced to take the houses but there is no investment in infrastructure.”
On Saturday, residents in Medway and villages near Sevenoaks, Maidstone and Malling began facing issues.
It followed an issue at the Matts Hill Water Supply Works, which stopped the site from producing water.
Brechje White, 42, says losing her water supply in Rough Common at about 7.30pm yesterday has been hard with four children at home.
“My daughter is really looking forward to a nice hot shower,” she said.
“Obviously, the toilets not flushing and all that stuff is proving a bit difficult.
“South East Water haven’t actually offered a solution to my question, which is when will they be handing out water.”
UK Power Networks also reported an outage in the Thanet area, which affected water supply sites in Selling and Wingham.
Southern Water said around 19,000 properties could be impacted across the Medway Towns, as well as villages near Sittingbourne and Maidstone, including Boxley, Detling, Hartlip and Bobbing.
South East Water says it follows a series of bursts in Tunbridge Wells area at the start of the year, but expects supply levels to be stable by tomorrow.
In an update this morning, a spokesperson said: “Your water returned this morning as water levels recovered overnight, however, they will now be intermittent for the rest of this morning, afternoon and evening as more water is used throughout the day, levels drop, and the pumps will automatically switch off.
“We completely appreciate this will be tough for our customers, we’re very sorry. This is not the level of service we want to provide.
“We believe this is the quickest way to return water supplies to normal.”
Tunbridge Wells resident Tanya Ballantyne has spoken about the difficulties of coping without running water.
She told KentOnline how the situation was “terrible” but was grateful to get bottled water supplied as she is a vulnerable person.
Have you been affected? Let us know what it is like in your area. Email multimediadesk@thekmgroup.co.uk.
