Home / Disasters and Accidents / Kent Water Crisis: Second Day of Supply Chaos
Kent Water Crisis: Second Day of Supply Chaos
15 Aug
Summary
- Up to 1,388 properties affected by water supply disruption.
- High demand, hydrant use, and two main bursts caused outages.
- Bottled water station opened in Cranbrook; station closes 10 PM Saturday.
Water supply issues continue for up to 1,388 properties across Benenden, Cranbrook, and Rolvenden in Kent on Saturday, August 15, 2026. South East Water cited high demand, fire service hydrant usage, and two consecutive water main bursts as the cause for the ongoing disruption that began early Friday morning.
Engineers successfully repaired a burst main on Swattenden Lane in Cranbrook on Friday, initiating the process to recharge the network. However, a further burst on the same main occurred overnight, prompting urgent repair efforts. Intermittent supplies or low pressure may affect up to 50 properties in Benenden North on Saturday morning.
In response, South East Water established a bottled water station at The Weald Sports Centre in Cranbrook, which is scheduled to close at 10 PM on Saturday. This latest incident follows previous supply failures, including a disruption affecting over 4,600 properties earlier this month and a larger outage impacting 18,000 properties during the May bank holiday weekend.
