Residents struggle as major water outage hits South East England
Affected areas include Tunbridge Wells, Canterbury, Maidstone, and East Grinstead, with some communities experiencing outages for up to five days. Schools, libraries, and other public facilities have been forced to close due to the water shortage.
South East Water attributed the disruption to freezing temperatures and Storm Goretti. A spokesperson said: “Freezing conditions have caused burst pipes and the storm made the company unable to treat water at the usual rate.”
They added: “Our drinking water storage tanks across the counties are running low following an outbreak of leaks and burst water mains after the recent cold weather. As a result, about 30,000 properties across parts of Kent and Sussex may be experiencing no water, intermittent supply or low pressure. This includes 16,500 properties in East Grinstead, with the remainder spread across parts of Kent, including Tunbridge Wells, Headcorn and intermittently across our Maidstone system.”
Kent County Council has declared the situation a major incident. Council leader Linden Kemkaran said: “A major incident has now been declared in Kent on the basis that more households and settings have been impacted in the last 24 hours and because we are putting additional arrangements in place to prepare for further potential disruption.”
Environment Minister Mary Creagh met with South East Water executives, emphasizing the need for urgent action. “I’m deeply concerned that water supply issues in parts of Kent and West Sussex have deteriorated, with several areas affected. I’ve just met South East Water to make clear my disappointment and stressed the need for urgent action to restore supplies,” she said.
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