Hundreds of homes in Kent and Sussex have been left without water following supply outages that began over the weekend. South East Water, a company recently accused of incompetence by MPs, attributed the disruptions to a technical failure at a pumping station compounded by increased demand due to hot weather.
Outages Peak Over Weekend
The outages started on Saturday and intensified on Sunday, when approximately 800 properties in the Kent villages of Charing, Challock, and Molash were unable to access water. Additionally, around 168 homes in Eastbourne, East Sussex, were affected on Sunday afternoon. By Monday, at least 250 homes remained without water.
Company Response and Apology
South East Water stated that the recent hot weather had driven up demand across its network, requiring it to pump far more drinking water than usual to higher ground. The company issued an apology and opened a bottled-water station at Challock village hall, also making deliveries to customers unable to visit. Steve Benton, the incident manager, said: “We are sorry to our customers in parts of Kent who have experienced low pressure or no water intermittently this weekend. Around 250 properties in the Charing, Challock and Molash areas have been impacted by water supply issues, including low pressure or no water. This follows a technical failure at our pumping station near Charing, which means we have struggled to push water to properties on higher ground.”
MPs Criticise Company Performance
Earlier this month, South East Water’s senior executives were accused of incompetence by a committee of MPs over repeated water outages affecting tens of thousands of customers. The company faces a £22 million fine from industry regulator Ofwat for serious disruptions over many years. Chief executive David Hinton announced plans to step down following the report, and the group’s chair also resigned.
Water Usage and Conservation Efforts
The British public has one of the highest per-capita daily water usage rates in Europe, averaging roughly 142 to 150 litres per person per day. The government aims to cut water use in England by 20% per person per day by 2038, and to reduce average consumption to 110 litres per person per day by 2050. A recent report highlighted the need for an urgent society-wide campaign to encourage water conservation, alongside rainwater reuse and grey-water recycling, to avoid shortages of 5 billion litres per day by 2055 in England.
On social media, South East Water appealed to customers to space out their water use, stating: “Sun’s out. We know the drill: nobody wants a water company telling them to save water when there’s leaks. Fair point. Our reservoirs are healthy. There is no shortage of water. But if we all use hoses at Saturday lunchtime, the water pressure drops and homes at the top of the hill can run dry. Spacing out heavy water tasks over the week means everyone on your street keeps their water pressure.”
Water supplies to 64 properties in Whitstable were also affected overnight after a technical problem with booster pumps. The company reiterated its apologies to all impacted customers for the disruption caused.
