Thousands of residents and businesses across Tunbridge Wells in Kent are bracing themselves for a second day without proper water supplies. A 'critical failure' at a local water treatment facility has left approximately 7,000 properties struggling with low pressure or no water at all – prompting South East Water to deploy tankers and bottled water stations.
South East Water's incident manager Steve Benton apologised for the disruption, stating that they are "genuinely sorry" for the inconvenience caused. Bottled water is being made available until 8pm on Sunday at Tesco superstore on Pembury Road and Tunbridge Wells Rugby Football Club at St Mark’s recreation ground.
The company has confirmed it's prioritising customers who require essential services, delivering bottled water directly to those registered on its priority list. However, officials say they need to reach a higher threshold in their storage tanks before supplies can be safely restored.
This latest disruption comes at a difficult time for South East Water, which serves around 2.3 million customers across the south-east of England. The company was ordered to pay £30.5 million by Ofwat last week following widespread supply interruptions affecting hundreds of thousands in Kent and Sussex.
A recent annual report highlighted 'material uncertainty' regarding its long-term viability, with South East Water operating at a loss and reporting a £55 million hit from winter outages. The company is currently negotiating with lenders to secure fresh financing to remain solvent, with sufficient cash available until July 2027 but requiring additional funding thereafter.