Six water bottle stations will be open until 10pm tonight
Twenty six tankers pumping water to help return supplies to 17,000 customers in Kent and Sussex(Image: Mary Harris)
South East Water is using 26 tankers to pump water into its network in a bid to return water to the remaining 17,000 customers without supply today (January 14) across Kent and Sussex. Tankers are also being used at hospitals, while bottled water is having to be delivered to care homes, schools, doctors, and to some with livestock, said the water company.
Six water bottle stations will be open until 10pm, with Kent ones being in Maidstone and two in Tunbridge Wells. Water to 8,000 customers across the two counties has been restored, with the 17,000 remaining, which includes 11,500 properties in East Grinstead in Sussex.
Meanwhile in Kemsing, near Sevenoaks, airlocks are being cleared in a bid to restore supplies. Customers in Linton can expect their water to return throughout today, said South East Water.
And there was good news and bad news for those in Tunbridge Wells. “The 6,500 customers in Tunbridge Wells on the boosted system have had their supplies restored this morning, however drinking water will be lost again today when the water level within the drinking water storage tank drops below the level the boosters can run,” said the South East Water’s incident manager Matthew Dean.
Mr Dean said the company understood how difficult every day life was without water, and acknowledged the “long period of time” people had gone without it. He said: “Water supplies are continuing to return to customers in Kent and Sussex following the recent cold weather and subsequent breakout of leaks and bursts which resulted in our drinking water storage tanks running very low.
“Once again, we are very sorry to all our customers who have been affected. We are using 26 tankers to pump water directly into our network to increase the amount of water available in the affected areas and 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.
“Our customer care team is delivering bottled water to the customers on our Priority Services Register who are most in need.”
Water bottle stations:
- Tunbridge Wells Rugby Football Club, St. Marks Recreation Ground, Tunbridge Wells, TN2 5LS
- Odeon Cinema, Knights Way, Tunbridge Wells, TN2 3UW
- Mote Park Leisure Centre, Mote Park, Maidstone, ME15 7RN
- East Grinstead Sports Club, Saint Hill Road, East Grinstead, RH19 4JU
- Kings Centre, Moat Road, East Grinstead, RH19 3LN
- East Court, College Lane, East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 3LT
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