Key facts
- Thousands of homes in Kent experienced water outages due to a power cut at a Sevenoaks treatment works.
- The disruption led to school closures and interruptions for businesses.
- South East Water stated that while the treatment works were operational, some properties still lacked water.
- The company is working to restore full supply and has set up bottled water stations.
- An MP has criticized the water company's response and called the situation unacceptable.
- Ofwat has launched an investigation into South East Water's handling of the crisis.
Thousands of homes across Kent have been left without water following a power cut at a treatment works in Sevenoaks. The incident, which began earlier in the week, caused significant disruption, leading to school closures and impacting businesses. South East Water, the company responsible, stated that while the treatment facility was back online, some properties were still experiencing supply issues.
The company has been working to restore full service throughout the night, particularly in Sevenoaks and Tonbridge, and has set up bottled water stations for affected customers. Douglas Whitfield, operations director for South East Water, explained that a failure of the backup generator, caused by storms over the weekend, led to the outage. He apologized for the difficulties faced by residents, acknowledging that some areas had experienced similar issues during extreme weather events.
Local MP Piers Tugendhat described the disruption as "unacceptable," highlighting the impact on daily life and criticizing the company's earlier advice for Tonbridge residents to collect water from a distant location. He expressed his intention to maintain pressure on South East Water to ensure future resilience. Other residents shared their frustrations, with some noting the lack of immediate notice and the difficulty in managing without basic water services.
Despite efforts to restore supply, some areas, including Bidborough, continued to face low water levels, necessitating the use of water tankers. Ofwat, the water services regulator, has launched an investigation into South East Water's performance. Additionally, concerns have been raised by local councillors regarding the water company's ability to meet the demands of new housing developments given its current performance.