About 7,000 Kent properties still without water overnight

About 7,000 properties in Kent still had no water overnight as supply problems continued.

South East Water (SEW) said most of the remaining customers affected were in Tunbridge Wells but that it was on track to restore supplies soon.

Some 30,000 properties across Kent and Sussex had no water at the height of the problems, which have prompted an investigation by regulator Ofwat.

Speaking on Thursday night, SEW incident manager Matthew Dean said the company’s plan to recover water for 6,500 customers in the Tunbridge Wells area was on track, with people expected to wake up to flowing water.

Dean added that supplies had returned to 16,500 properties in East Grinstead in West Sussex, as well as most of those impacted in the Bidborough area, with 320 properties still affected due to low drinking water tank levels.

Water had also been restored for about 2,000 properties in the Loose and Coxheath areas, although storage levels in the area remained “very low”, Dean said.

The company said it was continuing to use 26 tankers to pump water directly into its network and was working “around the clock” to fix leaks and bursts.

Bottled water stations were also set to reopen at 09:00 GMT, including in some areas where supplies have returned as a precaution.

They will be at East Grinstead Sports Club, Mote Park Leisure Centre in Maidstone, Tunbridge Wells Rugby Football Club, as well as at the the Odeon Cinema in Knights Way and RCP car park off Major York’s Road, also in Tunbridge Wells.

Bottled water has been delivered to customers on the company’s priority services register, which includes those with young children, medical conditions or disabilities.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called the ongoing situation “totally unacceptable” and the government later asked Ofwat to review the company’s licence.

SEW said it would “always fully co-operate with any investigation by regulators and provide any information required”.

Ofwat said if it was satisfied a licence condition had been breached, it would take enforcement action to secure compliance, which could include fining SEW up to 10% of its turnover.

SEW is already subjected to two separate investigations by Ofwat and the Drinking Water Inspectorate over earlier supply disruptions.

David Hinton, the company’s chief executive, was grilled by MPs for his firm’s handling of supply failures in November and December.

Alistair Carmichael, chairman of the Parliamentary Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, said he and his colleagues remained “deeply sceptical” about the firm’s version of events.

The committee has recalled Hinton and chairman Chris Train to provide further evidence.

Several MPs have called for Hinton – who earns £400,000 and got a £115,000 bonus last year – to resign.