Tunbridge Wells water issues affecting 23,000 customers

A water company has confirmed that around 23,000 customers in Kent are without water and the problem will continue overnight.

On Saturday, Southeast Water (SEW) Apologized to customers in Tunbridge Wells An area experiencing water loss or low pressure due to a problem in treatment facilities.

Previously, SEW had postponed the estimated resolution of the problem until 06:00 GMT on Monday.

Head of operations control Matthew Dean said Pembury Water Treatment Works had stopped operating “due to a bad chemical batch”.

He said a new batch of chemicals was received on Sunday.

Southeastern Water incident manager Marc Sims said: “We are aware of approximately 23,000 customers currently experiencing water supply issues due to low pressure or lack of water.

“The number was around 24,000 earlier today, with around 1,150 properties in the Pembury area back on supply following rezonings.”

He said the firm “continues to transport water and transport tankers to the network” and is carrying out “necessary water quality testing to get the site back up and running as quickly as possible”.

In Tunbridge Wells, three bottled water stations have been set up at Tunbridge Wells Sports Centre, Odeon Cinema Knights Road and the RCP Car Park.

These are expected to be open until 22:30 on Sunday.

“However, we have closed the Sovereign Way bottled water station due to the winter festival in Tonbridge,” Mr Sims said.

The incident manager said SEW’s customer service team and Water Direct had distributed bottled water to more than 2,000 of its most vulnerable customers and would continue to do so throughout the evening.

He added: “Our teams are distributing bottled water to care homes in the area.

“We are in direct contact with Tunbridge Wells Hospital and have organized a tanker to support them and will continue to engage with them until this issue is resolved.”

Earlier on Sunday, Nicola Hodgson, who lives near Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells, was among customers who questioned why the first water station was being built in a “completely different town”.

She said her husband “tried to visit the Tonbridge water station first thing this morning and there was nothing there”.

“We have two young children aged five and seven. [they] “We have taken shelter with their grandmother for now so we can give them something to drink and keep the toilets working,” he added.

Tunbridge Wells MP Mike Martin said he was also dehydrated and spoke to SEW’s chief executive.

He wrote about X: “For those unaware, the problem comes from bad amounts of coagulant chemicals.

“A new set of chemicals has been sourced and the team is working on it [Saturday] Night to clean the Pembury Treatment Plants.”

Meanwhile, Teresa Barrett, who runs the Black Horse on Camden Road, said the bar had not had running water since midnight on Saturday.

He said: “Unfortunately this means it is illegal for us to open. I would if I could.”

The host said a one-day trading loss would be “extremely damaging” and added: “I can’t afford to close down, I can’t afford to lose a day trading in the current environment.

“Things are tough enough for hospitality right now, businesses in this sector would be preparing for table bookings today and losing huge amounts of money. [and] Staff will still need to be paid.”

Peter Vincent, who lives in Grove Hill, said he noticed “the cistern wasn’t filling properly” on Sunday morning.

“We will get the flow and pressure coming down the hill from the mains,” he said BBC Radio Kent.

“For us to be this slow, it’s going to be pretty difficult for some people somewhere in town to start drawing their water.”

Customers can register with SEW Register on the Priority Services Website.