Tens of thousands of South East and Southern Water customers left with no supplies

Tens of thousands of homes across the region have been left with no water.

15,000 South East Water customers are currently without supplies or low pressure which the company has put down to the cold weather 'increasing the level of bursts and leaks on the extensive underground network, causing storage reservoir levels to drop.'

Upto 50,000 homes in Thanet who are supplied by Southern Water are also without water because of a burst water main.

Southern Water say the burst main in Broadstairs has affected the supply.

The company says they are in the process of setting up bottled water stations and are delivering water to those who are vulnerable.

  • Tim McMahon of Southern Water

Meanwhile South East Water has set up bottled water stations in East Grinstead and Tunbridge Wells, and has apologised to customers.

David Hinton, Chief Executive Officer, South East Water, said: “We are very sorry to our customers who are without water but we are doing everything we can in this incredibly fast moving and challenging situation.

“This has resulted in many of our drinking water storage tanks, which hold treated water before it is pumped to customers’ taps, going empty or very low.

“Although we planned for this, we cannot predict when and where pipes will burst and are reacting as quickly as possible.

Bottled water stations have been set up for South East Water customers. Credit: South East Water

“Our teams are working flat out to find, fix and repair the leaks on our pipes but we’re asking customers to help too by checking their homes, businesses, empty properties, outside taps and troughs in any fields for leaks and get them repaired as soon as possible. Leaks within properties can cause extensive damage which can be costly to repair.

“To help us further we would ask our customers who do have water to only use water for the essentials, take shorter showers, do not leave taps running unnecessarily and only run washing machines and dishwashers when you have a full load. If possible, avoid using appliances at the peak times of 7am to 9am and 4pm to 7pm. This will make a real difference.”

“We would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding. Unfortunately we are unable to say at this stage when supplies will return to normal.

“It is a constantly changing picture in very challenging circumstances beyond our control. All our teams are working 24 hours a day responding to and will continue to do so until supplies are restored.”