Thousands of residents in Kent are set to endure ongoing water supply disruptions over the weekend as South East Water continues to battle the effects of the recent heatwave. The company has urged customers to limit water usage to essential purposes such as drinking, washing, and cooking.
Supply Restoration Efforts
Matthew Dean, incident manager at South East Water, confirmed on Friday that 3,500 customers in the Whitstable area would see their supply return later in the day. However, he warned that tap water is likely to remain intermittent throughout the weekend for all customers in that region. Some 3,500 customers in Whitstable had their water supply restored on Thursday evening.
Elsewhere, 165 customers in Cranbrook are without water due to critically low levels in drinking water storage tanks. Approximately 10,500 customers in Coxheath, Loose, Headcorn, Herne Bay, and Benenden are experiencing low pressure or intermittent supply.
Impact on Businesses and Residents
Businesses have been forced to close, and residents have queued at bottled water stations since the problems began during the bank holiday weekend heat. South East Water has delivered nearly 230,000 litres of water to vulnerable customers and supplied bottled water to care homes, GP surgeries, pharmacies, and dentists. Almost 340,000 bottles of water have been distributed at stations across the county, with officials seeking new locations for additional water points.
Credit Rating Downgrade
The water company received a credit rating downgrade from Moody's Ratings on Thursday, breaching its operating licence with regulator Ofwat. The licence requires two investment-grade credit ratings, and South East Water is now in discussions with Ofwat to return to compliance. The downgrade was attributed to the fallout from two high-profile outages and continued resilience risks until investment programmes are completed.
Thousands of customers were left without tap water, unable to shower or flush toilets during outages between November and January. Earlier this month, CEO David Hinton announced his resignation, following chairman Chris Train's departure after a scathing MP report expressing no confidence in the company's leadership.
Regulatory Response
Ofwat stated that the downgrade reinforces the need for a financial and operational turnaround. A spokesman said: "The downgrade puts the company in breach of its licence. We want to see South East Water urgently address the root causes of its latest downgrade, and we are engaging with them on potential undertakings to secure compliance."
Ofwat is closely monitoring the ongoing supply interruptions in Kent and has proposed a £22 million fine for multiple supply interruptions between 2020 and 2023. The company is also under investigation for customer care during outages in late 2025 and early 2026.
Customer Advice
Mr Dean reiterated the plea for customers to use water only for essential needs. "We are sorry to customers who have had interruptions or low pressure and know how frustrating it is, especially in very hot weather," he said. "We will continue to do all we can to prevent and resolve the issues."
On Thursday, the company pumped 619 million litres of water, significantly higher than the average for this time of year. On some days during this high-demand period, they have treated and pumped around 100 million litres more than the daily May average.
