A profound sense of despair has settled over communities in Kent and Sussex this week, as tens of thousands of households entered a fifth consecutive day without reliable running water. The scene at emergency bottled water distribution centres in Tunbridge Wells and East Grinstead painted a bleak picture of modern Britain: towering stacks of plastic bottles, shivering staff in hi-vis, and queues of cars navigating muddy, potholed roads.
A Week of Flannel Baths and Mounting Anger
For nearly a week, residents have endured what many describe as a return to the dark ages. Stories abound of flannel baths, closed schools, and grinding anxiety. "It feels like we're marinating!" exclaimed Jackie Marsh, a retired hairdresser. The crisis has hit the most vulnerable hardest. Scarlet, a 27-year-old nursery manager nine weeks pregnant with severe morning sickness, cannot flush the toilet, shower, or even make a soothing cup of tea, leaving her "terribly distraught and really frightened," according to her mother-in-law.
New parents Charlie and Lorna returned home to Hawkenbury with their newborn, Pip, only to face a sporadic water supply that made it a "challenge" to wash the mother's Caesarean scar. The impact has rippled through the local economy, forcing shops, pubs, restaurants, GP surgeries, and schools to close. "It's been like Armageddon," said Russ, owner of Mad Dog Coffee Lounge in East Grinstead. "A total nightmare."
A Recurring Nightmare and a CEO Under Fire
This disaster is not an isolated incident. In early December, 24,000 households in Tunbridge Wells were without drinking water for two weeks, a crisis the Drinking Water Inspectorate said was foreseeable due to a lack of maintenance. Now, South East Water blames freezing weather from Storm Goretti for leaks in its ageing network—an explanation that frustrates residents who note other, harder-hit regions have not suffered similar collapses.
Public fury is squarely aimed at the water company and its CEO, David Hinton. It was revealed that Hinton received a 30% pay rise last year, taking his salary to £400,000, with an annual bonus of up to £115,000. He has refused to say if he will forgo the bonus this year. During the December outage, he avoided public appearances and media interviews for 20 days, and he has not been seen in the current crisis zones. "He has to go," is a common refrain among locals.
Community Spirit Amidst Systemic Failure
Amid the chaos, glimmers of community resilience shine through. Retirees are using water from garden butts to flush toilets, and one couple in their 70s reported "bracing" baths in a freezing stream. However, for the elderly, such as the 115 residents at Sherborne Close housing complex, the situation is dire. They are unable to lift heavy water bottles delivered in the dead of night and feel this crisis is "worse than the pandemic."
The uncertainty and poor communication are crippling. Hannah Knowles, principal of Skinners' Kent Academy, which has been closed for most of the week, ordered Portaloos for her school and vowed to bill South East Water. "No one knows what's going on," she stated. Local MP Mike Martin, who speaks to the company multiple times daily, is not reassured by their optimism, saying, "I'm not entirely convinced that in a week's time it will still be on."
The fallout has prompted action. Following intervention by the Drinking Water Inspectorate, water regulator Ofwat has opened an investigation into whether South East Water breached its operating licence. For residents like Paul, a retired banker, expectations have been permanently lowered. "We've had to reset our expectations. Now we just assume there isn't any water... Otherwise we'd despair. Not just about the water, but about everything going wrong in this country today."
