Is my tap water safe to drink? Kent crisis health risks explained

Thousands of households are continuing to be told to boil their water before drinking it over health concerns following supply issues.

Tap water has begun to return to some of the 24,000 homes affected by outages in Kent and East Sussex after six days, but this is not yet safe to drink according to South East Water.

The water company continues to say that, until at least Saturday, 13 December, households affected must boil their water before they can drink, cook or brush their teeth.

The boil water notice has been put in place as a precaution to avoid any public health concerns arising from the supply, it added.

Households are beginning to see water supplies return, but because of the issues South East Water said residents must boil any water they wish to drink or cook with.

The boil notice, it says, is precautionary in order to prevent people from becoming ill as a result of consuming water which has not yet been made safe to drink.

Boiling water can make it safe to drink as doing so disinfects it, killing any bacteria or microorganisms in the supply with the heat.

Water should be boiled until it reaches a rolling boil, according to the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI). This should be stored in a covered container to cool down.

South East Water says that, while the water returning to homes would not cause issues for anyone who is fully healthy, it may pose a risk to people with weaker immune systems, such as older residents, babies and children.

Hugh Pennington, professor emeritus in Bacteriology at the University of Aberdeen, said: “After a few days of drinking the water you could come down with diarrhoea and vomiting.

“People with immune system problems could have issues.”

There is no evidence that the water is contaminated, the company stressed, but the water currently flowing through the system doesn’t meet the regulatory requirements needed to make it safe to drink.

Currently, the water returning to homes is safe to use if it is not being consumed.

Supply can be used for tasks such as flushing the toilet, showering or washing, as the water is “chemically safe” according to South East Water.

Boiled water can also be used to give to pets, but this should be cooled down first.

As with other people who may be particularly affected by the water outage, any tap water to be consumed by children should be boiled first.

Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust also advised that unboiled tap water should not be used to wash babies and children.

Parents prepping baby formula for their young children are once again advised to boil the tap water first in order to sterilise it and make it safe.

Put simply, if you intend to consume the water, then it should be boiled first.

This can include drinking it, but also means that if you intend to cook with water, for example, then this should also be disinfected.

The issues also includes other tasks in the kitchen such as washing dishes or wiping down the sides.

Brushing your teeth with tap water is also not advised, South East Water said.

South East Water previously said that the boil water notice would be in place for 10 days from Wednesday, 4 December until Saturday, 13 December.

The boil water notice comes after around 24,000 homes were affected by water supply isues across Tunbridge Wells, Pembury and parts of East Sussex including Frant.

South East Water says that, while it has returned supply to many of the customers affected, it remains unsafe to drink unless boiled first.