finance
South East Water Supply Issues: 7,000 Properties Affected
Water outage hits Tunbridge Wells treatment works. Up to 7,000 properties face low pressure and no supply. Bottled water stations open. Latest updates.
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How we reported this
South East Water said on Sunday that up to 7,000 properties face low pressure, no water or intermittent supply due to a temporary instrument failure at its Tunbridge Wells water treatment works. The company apologised to customers and said two bottled water stations were open in the town for a second day.
Current Incident Response
The company said on Saturday that supplies would not return until Sunday evening at the earliest. On Sunday the water treatment works were now stable. Low storage levels from this disruption and high demand mean the company cannot pump water to some areas, particularly on higher ground. To ensure a stable, continuous flow the company must allow tanks to replenish. The company was continuing to deliver bottled water to customers from the priority services register, a free support scheme for people who need extra help.
Recent Pattern of Incidents
This is the third major incident in Tunbridge Wells in recent months. Thousands of properties across Tunbridge Wells were affected by water disruptions in January. South East Water has been under intense scrutiny since November, when 24,000 customers lost water supply or pressure in the Tunbridge Wells area. Customers were then advised to boil their water before consumption for a nine-day period after supply returned. Weeks later about 30,000 households in Kent and Sussex faced days of supply issues, which bosses blamed on freezing temperatures and Storm Goretti.
Earlier this week the water company was ordered to spend £30.5m on improvements after investigations by industry watchdog Ofwat. The company announced its chair had departed and its chief executive would also leave following the earlier failures. SEW warned in its annual report this week that it needed to secure fresh financing to stay afloat after taking a £55m hit from outages over the winter. The water supplier to around 2.3 million customers in the south east of England said it was in discussions with lenders to agree a new loan facility.
This article is general information only and is not personal financial or investment advice. Consider your own circumstances and seek licensed professional advice before making financial decisions.