South East Water has faced renewed criticism after a report concluded that the company failed to adequately communicate with customers during outages last winter, leaving tens of thousands without water. The Consumer Council for Water (CCW) revealed that fewer than one in 10 customers were satisfied with how the firm handled the supply crisis across parts of Kent and Sussex.
Report highlights communication failures
The independent CCW report identified communication as South East Water’s greatest failing. Mike Keil, chief executive of CCW, stated: “Our research lays bare the scale of disruption inflicted on the lives of tens of thousands of South East Water customers last winter. People understand that things can sometimes go wrong with their water and sewerage services, but they expect their water company to minimise the impact – not make it worse. With the right handling, companies can build trust during challenging incidents, but when the response falls short, it can make a bad situation even more difficult.”
Keil added that the most damaging legacy was the loss of confidence among some customers in the safety and reliability of their drinking water.
Winter disruption details
The winter outages hit in November and December 2025, when about 24,000 customers lost water supply or pressure in the Tunbridge Wells area due to a water quality failure at the Pembury water treatment works. A formal precautionary boil-water notice was issued on 3 December 2025 and lifted on 12 December 2025. Then, in January 2026, approximately 69,000 properties experienced water shortages and low pressure.
One customer surveyed said: “You suddenly realise how much you rely on water for everything.” Another noted: “If we had known it would be several days, I’d have planned things very differently … I was starting to think if it goes on much longer then I just have to move out because this is not an option for me to live here.”
Customers also criticised the confusing messaging. One said: “I think the messaging from the very beginning was very confusing and then coupled with the constant ‘it’ll be back later today, back tomorrow morning, back tomorrow evening’. We weren’t fed accurate information.”
People with health vulnerabilities expressed concerns about maintaining hygiene during the outages. The report found that about half of customers in vulnerable circumstances registered for priority services did not receive the support they expected.
Recent outages add to pressure
The report was published as South East Water faced further criticism for water outages that affected hundreds of households across Kent and Sussex during the hottest days of the year last week. The company said on Tuesday that all affected households should have their taps running consistently again. Hundreds of customers experienced spells without running water or an inconsistent supply from 23 May.
Earlier this month, South East Water’s senior executives were accused of incompetence by a committee of MPs over repeated water outages. The company also faces a £22 million fine from the industry regulator, Ofwat, for serious disruptions over many years. MPs said the company had comprehensively failed to deliver for the consumers it served.
