South East Water has been criticised for failing to communicate adequately with customers during water outages last winter, according to a report by the Consumer Council for Water (CCW). Fewer than one in 10 customers were satisfied with the company's handling of the supply crisis, which left tens of thousands without water in Kent and Sussex.
The report found that communication was the company's greatest failing. Mike Keil, chief executive of CCW, said: 'Our research lays bare the scale of disruption inflicted on the lives of tens of thousands of South East Water customers last winter.' He added that the loss of confidence in the safety and reliability of drinking water was a damaging legacy.
The outages occurred in November and December 2025, when about 24,000 customers in the Tunbridge Wells area lost supply due to a water quality failure at Pembury water treatment works. A boil-water notice was in place from 3 to 12 December. In January, about 69,000 properties were affected by shortages and low pressure.
Customers criticised the lack of accurate information. One said: 'The messaging from the very beginning was very confusing... We weren't fed accurate information.' About half of vulnerable customers registered for priority services said they did not receive expected support.
The report was published as South East Water faced further criticism for outages during hot weather last week, affecting hundreds of households. The company said supplies were restored by Tuesday. South East Water faces a £22m fine from Ofwat and has been accused of incompetence by MPs.
