Thousands of homes across Kent remain without water on Friday, with South East Water warning that supply will remain intermittent over the weekend. A heatwave that saw temperatures peak at 35C in London and other parts of England has caused water shortages due to low reservoir supplies.
Around 3,500 customers are currently without water in the seaside area, but supply is expected to return later on Friday. However, the company has warned that tap water is “likely to remain intermittent across the weekend for all customers in this area”. In London, Thames Water has been grappling with a burst main since midnight on Wednesday, affecting postcodes SE5, SE15, SE22, SE24, SW2 and SW9.
Madeline Sherratt, a resident of southeast London, criticised Thames Water for not providing backup supplies. She said: “I haven’t been able to have a drink for over 24 hours from my tap. Honestly, this is pure misery but is considerably worse for those who need to take medications.”
In Kent, drinking water storage tanks have reached critical levels, affecting 200 customers in Cranbrook, while around 8,700 homes are experiencing low pressure or intermittent supply in Ulcombe, Coxheath, Loose, Headcorn and Herne Bay. Villages including Challock, Charing and Molash were without water overnight. A bottled water station has been opened at Challock Village Hall.
Mark Stubbs, head chef of Wheelers Oyster Bar in Whitstable, said the outage forced the restaurant to close, cancel bookings and send staff home. “It’s nice weather and half term when the High Street should be thriving. The hospitality industry is going to be hit again really hard,” he said.
Kent County Council announced it will step up public scrutiny of water supply, quality and infrastructure following the outages. The latest disruptions come after South East Water’s chief executive David Hinton announced his resignation earlier this month, following a scathing report by MPs who said they had “no confidence” in the company’s leadership.
