Burst pipe leaves homes in East Sussex without water on Christmas Day | East Sussex
Some households in East Sussex were left without water on Christmas Day after supplier Southern Water had trouble trying to restore the service following a burst water main.
Southern Water blamed the Fairlight reservoir for “very low levels” and added that the plant had “now reached its ultimate reserves”.
Affected areas included TN34, TN35, TN37, and TN38; Customers living at higher altitudes were more likely to be affected.
The utility said: “We regret that customers in Hastings may currently be experiencing low pressure and, in some cases, temporary loss of water supply.
“We recognize how devastating this can be, especially this time of year, and we are doing everything we can to restore supplies as quickly as possible.”
Southern Water said it had received reports of low pressure or intermittent supply from fewer than 100 customers in Hastings.
The incident follows reports that a main pipe burst in woodland north of Hastings on Tuesday morning, which the company was trying to repair before supply cuts over Christmas.
A brief power outage at Brede water supply facilities on Thursday also affected the remaining levels in the Fairlight reservoir.
This isn’t the first time burst pipes have caused disruption in the area. Hastings residents were left without water for four days in May 2024 after a pipe burst that was marked for replacement in 2007 but was never fixed. A large number of pipes in the Hastings area were previously listed by the company as “old assets prone to failure”.
The bottled water station in the Pelham Place car park on Carlisle Parade in Hastings was open until 10pm on Christmas Day.
Southern Water has deployed a fleet of tankers to inject water into the network and reservoir, and said: “This process takes time, but we are already seeing gradual improvements.”
The supplier said the problems were expected to be “temporary”, adding: “If you have water please use it responsibly as reservoir levels are low and demand is very high.”
Helena Dollimore, Labor MP for Hastings and Rye, said: “I am angry that Hastings is once again paying the price for Southern Water’s failures.
“Our town’s water infrastructure is not fit for purpose after years of neglect and Southern Water needs to do better.
“I am pressing Southern Water to restore water supplies as soon as possible and minimize the impact on residents by providing bottled water and opening ample water stations.
“I’m also asking them to provide extra water to our bars and restaurants, which are particularly busy at this time of year. Southern Water needs to get its act together once we get through this.”
“After a five-day major water outage last May when the same pipe burst, and last month’s environmental disaster when millions of plastic beads escaped from wastewater plants, we can’t take it anymore.”
