Tunbridge Wells water supply crisis not good enough, watchdog says

Water supply problems still affecting thousands of people in Kent and Sussex are “not good enough”, a watchdog has said.

Approximately 23,000 Southeastern Water (SEW) customers have been without water or intermittent supplies since Saturday, the company blaming Storm Goretti and the power outage.

Mike Keil, chief executive of the Water Consumer Council, said the firm’s service “failed when weather conditions got a bit extreme”.

The water company apologized and added that it was working hard to resolve the issues.

Kent County Council leader Linden Kemkaran also joined calls for the resignation of South East Water boss David Hinton, adding: “Heads should roll.”

South East Water reported a number of “ongoing outages” on its network, but the number and location changed constantly on Tuesday.

The affected areas were variously listed as Tonbridge, Sevenoaks, Cuckfield, Ashford, East Grinstead, Burgess Hill, Tunbridge Wells, Coxheath, Plaxtol, Harbledown, Blean, Loose, Hollingbourne, Headcorn, Ulcombe, Kingswood, Sutton Valence, Marden and Boughton-under-Blean.

Keil said the current situation is “not good enough” and infrastructure needs to be improved through investment.

“Particularly in South East Water’s patch, we see time and time again that their services fail when weather conditions get a bit extreme,” he said.

“We see that in the summer it is very hot and they do not have water, and now it is very cold and you cannot get water.”

The company said affected customers in Sussex should see water supplies restored by Tuesday or Wednesday but could not commit to a deadline for Tunbridge Wells.

“This is a slow process as it is a large network of pipes that must be carefully filled to avoid creating bursts that will delay restoration,” Dean said.

Many MPs and councilors have called on Hinton to resign.

“We cannot choose any other water supplier,” Kemkaran said.

“South East Water has not properly invested in maintaining its infrastructure.”

Hinton, whose base salary is £400,000 and received a £115,000 bonus last year, has previously vowed to stay in his role.feels customers’ pain“.

James Milne, who collects bottled water in East Grinstead, said: BBC Radio Sussex He said the last few days have been “absolutely terrible.”

“We haven’t showered or washed properly since Friday [and there have been] “There are constant excuses coming from Southeast Su,” he said.

“If you look at any other private sector, if they behaved this way they would be fired.”

Andrew Goodacre, chief executive of the British Independent Retailers Association, said independent businesses had been “severely affected” by the ongoing crisis, with many having to close their doors or operate at reduced capacity.

“This is another example of independent retailers bearing the brunt of infrastructure failures through no fault of their own,” he said.

A school principal said some schools were also closed. BBC Radio City He said he had to use the school’s budget to buy bottled water from the supermarket.

South East Water previously said it was doing “everything” it could to support affected customers.

It added that it has set up water bottle stations in affected areas and is delivering supplies to priority registered customers.

But a man recovering from a spinal cord injury in Tunbridge Wells told the BBC he had not received any deliveries of bottled water despite being on the list.

“I’m in a helpless, helpless situation,” he said.

The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) said in a statement on Tuesday that it had launched an investigation into the company due to the water crisis.

It said it would examine “the circumstances that led to the loss of supply, the measures the company took during the event and its communication with consumers.”

DWI added that it would take appropriate enforcement action “where necessary.”

Maidstone Borough Council leader Stuart Jeffery has called for water companies to be brought back under state control.

“It’s pretty clear that our water companies are failing the public and the environment,” he said.

“These need to be urgently re-nationalised and invested appropriately.”

Nicola Higgins, the company’s head of commercial development, said South East Water had requested additional funding of £300 million to resolve problems on its network.

“We have plans to increase the resilience of our system,” he said.

“As we can see right now, we have ongoing challenges.”

Hinton was recently grilled by MPs over his handling of a similar outage affecting 24,000 properties in the Tunbridge Wells area last month.

Alistair Carmichael (MP), chairman of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, later wrote to question the “accuracy and purpose” of his evidence.

The MP said he was “increasingly concerned” about the company’s management.

He added that the committee had taken the “unprecedented” step of recalling Hinton to Parliament.

Water Minister Emma Hardy said she was “very concerned” about the latest supply disruption in Sussex and Kent.

He said the government was increasing compensation amounts for affected customers and businesses

He also added that “infrastructure investments should be prioritized to increase the resilience of our water system.”

The five bottled water stations will be open until 22:00 GMT at Tunbridge Wells Rugby Football Club, Maidstone Leisure Center near Mote Park and East Grinstead Sports Club, as well as at the Kings Center and East Court in the city.