Good morning,
We are pleased to confirm drinking water has returned for all customers impacted by the water supply interruptions in Kent caused by exceptionally high demand in the period of hot weather.
The burst in Millstrood Road, Whitstable which affected a small number of customers yesterday has been repaired and all customers are back in supply.
Across Kent there may be small isolated areas experiencing intermittent supplies while we continue to stabilise the network.
Our network is continuing to recover, however levels of drinking water in our storage tanks across the region remain low.
Despite the weather cooling, we are asking customers to use water for essential purposes only – drinking, cooking, and hygiene, to aid the recovery of levels in our drinking water storage tanks.
We are still using our fleet of tankers to support the network and aid recovery further.
We would like to say again how deeply sorry we are to our customers for any disruption to their water supply and know how frustrating it is, especially in the recent hot weather.
We know there are customers still experiencing intermittent issues with their water supply, and we apologise unreservedly for the inconvenience this continues to cause. This is not the service our customers expect, nor is it the service we aim to provide.
We have also had reports of our teams in Kent being subject to abuse and threats. This is unacceptable and we would urge you all to highlight this to your communities.
The latest situation
Drinking water has returned for all customers impacted by the water supply interruptions in Kent caused by exceptionally high demand following the period of hot weather.
The burst in Millstrood Road, Whitstable which affected a small number of customers yesterday has been repaired and all customers are back in supply.
Experiencing an intermittent supply
Currently, only a very small number of isolated areas are experiencing intermittent supply or low pressures currently. This means, where some customers had water turned off and on at peak demand times, particularly between 7am to 9am and 4pm to 7pm, but the vast majority of customers have a constant supply through these times.
Monitoring closely
Wraik Hill and Chestfield – some customers in the Wraik Hill and Chestfield areas of Whitstable may experience intermittent supplies.
Supplies fully restored
Below are the areas which have been removed from our monitoring closely list, as supplies have now been fully restored:
Wittersham
Ashford
Charing, Challock and Molash
Hastingleigh, Brabourne and surrounding areas
Wrotham
Cranbrook
Whitstable, Herne Bay and surrounding areas
Loose
Benenden
Mereworth
Kemsing
Coxheath
Headcorn and Ulcombe
Phone lines today
Our phone lines are open as normal.
If any vulnerable customers need to contact us to request water, they should call us on 0800 952 4000.
Alternative water
We are no longer proactively delivering bottled water to those on our PSR list who have been without water as all are back in supply. However, we will react if localised issues occur. If a vulnerable customer is experiencing a localised issue, they should call us on: 0800 952 4000.
We have delivered more than half a million litres of water to customers on our Priority Services Register and also delivered more than 365,000 litres of water to critical care settings such as care homes, GP surgeries, pharmacies, dentists and schools.
All hospitals, care homes and schools are in supply.
As we continue to closely monitor the Wraik Hill and Chestfield areas of Whitstable, we will open our bottled water station and community hub below at 9am. The closing time of these sites is under constant review, and we will update you later today when that will be.
Sainsbury’s Reeves Way, Chestfield, Whitstable, CT5 3QS
Seasalter Christian Centre, Faversham Road CT5 4AX
All other bottled water stations have closed.
What have we been doing?
We planned for the hot weather by increasing output at our water treatment works across our supply area and putting extra water into the network. All our available water treatment works are currently working at full capacity.
We have also given out more than 1.1 million litres of water at our bottled water stations across Kent.
We have been working 24/7 with our fleet of tankers to support our network where demand has been extremely high. So far, we have tankered over 3 million litres of water into the network.
In addition we have had some leaks and bursts, while this is normal for a network of 9,000 miles of pipework and 6 million joints, we have increased our teams who are out finding and fixing leaks.
Further advice
Bogus letters and notices
We’re aware that there are a number of letters and notices being placed on social media and through letterboxes pretending to be from South East Water which are providing incorrect information.
To be clear, these notices are not from South East Water or Southern Water. Please ignore them. Customers should only follow information which is placed on our website and social media channels.
Customer letters
We will shortly be writing to all customers affected to make them aware of the next steps.
Compensation
We are truly sorry for the impact this situation has had on residents and businesses in parts of Kent and Sussex where there have been water supply issues during the hot weather over the past week.
We abide by our Guaranteed Standards of Service (GSS) and we are fully committed to compensating our customers and businesses fairly for this disruption. We want to ensure that every single customer and business receives exactly what they are entitled to. Customers and businesses can view and download the up-to-date GSS guidance here.
For business customers, any compensation that is paid by South East Water will go to their water retailer. It is the retailer’s responsibility to apply this to their account.
Water reduction
Although the weather has cooled this week our system is still recovering so we’re continuing to encourage customers to:
Stop using jet washes, hosepipes and sprinklers. Swap paddling pools for water blasters to keep kids cool and the car and patio can wait for a wash.
Think about where you can swap tap water for recycled water. Reuse water from baths, showers and sinks in the garden.
Act now, please do all you can to cut down on everything but essential water use, which is drinking, cooking and hygiene.
Once again, we are sorry to customers who have had interruptions or low pressure in their water supply. We will continue to do all we can to prevent and resolve the issues.