Why are thousands in Kent experiencing water supply issues again?

An electrical fault at a treatment works and slow recovery of drinking water in storage tanks have caused the latest water supply problems in Kent.

Which areas in Kent are most affected by the water outages?

Rural areas around Maidstone, including Harrietsham, Kingswood, Coxheath, and Headcorn, along with parts of Tunbridge Wells, are experiencing disruptions.

What is South East Water doing about the repeated water supply problems?

South East Water has apologized, opened bottled water stations, and is working to restore supply, attributing the issues to technical faults.

Home / Disasters and Accidents / Kent Water Crisis: Thousands Face Dry Taps Again

Kent Water Crisis: Thousands Face Dry Taps Again

18 Jan

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Summary

Around 4,500 properties in Maidstone rural areas lack water.
Hundreds in Tunbridge Wells also experienced disruptions.
An electrical fault at a treatment works caused the outage.

Kent Water Crisis: Thousands Face Dry Taps Again

An estimated 4,500 properties in rural areas surrounding Maidstone, along with hundreds in Tunbridge Wells, are currently without adequate water supply. This marks a recurrence of similar disruptions experienced just days prior, causing significant inconvenience to residents. South East Water has cited an electrical fault at a treatment works and a slow recovery of water in storage tanks as the primary causes.

The company expects to restore supply to affected Maidstone areas by the end of Sunday, while Tunbridge Wells customers in the Bidborough area may experience continued disruption until Monday. South East Water has apologized for the inconvenience and established bottled water stations for those impacted. This latest outage adds to a series of problems for the water company.

Last week, some 30,000 homes across Kent and West Sussex faced a six-day water supply outage, prompting Kent County Council to declare a major incident and the water regulator Ofwat to launch an investigation. A similar sustained outage in November and December left 24,000 properties in and around Tunbridge Wells without potable water for nearly two weeks.