Water returning to 32,500 homes and businesses in East Sussex after four days

Bottled water is being handed out at stations across Hastings and St Leonards after a burst pipe. Credit: Southern Water

Water supplies are starting to return to more than 30,000 properties in part of East Sussex, after a main burst on Thursday.

Southern Water said in an update it was “very sorry” that people in St Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings and in Westfield had struggled without water for so long, but there are hopes that water will be restored to all areas by Monday morning.

The incident began at around 4.30pm on Thursday (2 May) after the main burst in an area of dense woodland.

Engineers have removed the broken pipe and replaced it with a new length of pipework. Credit: Southern Water

Although the pipe was repaired on Saturday, Southern Water had to recharge our network and restart their Beauport supply works.

In a statement they said: "More than 17,000 customers in the west of the affected area and lower-lying areas nearest to Beauport, (west and central areas of St Leonards-on-Sea, west Hastings and rural areas around Westfield), have already seen their supplies return.

"More than 4,000 others in the east (north of Hollington and east Hastings and rural areas east of Hastings), are seeing their supplies return overnight.

"However, the remaining properties that are the furthest areas from the supply works – which is pumping more than 18 million litres of water into the network every 24 hours – should see their supplies return on Monday."

The company says that customers may find their water is cloudy, which is caused by air bubbles, or discoloured which is caused by iron deposits in the pipes.

They reassure customers that this is "harmless" and can be remedied by running the kitchen tap until the water runs clear.

Schools, a leisure centre and a theatre in the area have been forced to close this week.

This weekend saw the annual four-day Jack In The Green Festival in Hastings and the May Day Bike Run, both of which usually see thousands of visitors flock to the area.

The Jack in the Green Festival in Hastings attracts thousands of visitors over the Bank Holiday Credit: Library Image

East Sussex County Councillor Godfrey Daniel said the impact on businesses in Hastings will be “drastic”.

He added that one hotel in Hastings has resorted to flushing toilets with sea water.

Southern Water opened water bottle stations at Asda and Tesco in St Leonards-on-Sea, Sea Road in Hastings and Hastings Academy in Hastings.

The company added that the burst main is located in Keeper’s Wood, near the A21, “deep in woodland”, which is making it difficult for crews and machinery to reach it.

The burst happened in an area of dense woodland Credit: Southern Water

Southern Water said: "We recognise that the May bank holiday is an important weekend and that the loss of water supplies will have had an impact on local businesses.

"Recognising this, we will go beyond our regulatory and statutory obligations in compensating the businesses affected on a goodwill basis.

"This will be done in a fair and proportionate way and after the water supply incident has been fully resolved."

Summerfields Leisure Centre posted on Facebook saying it was still closed on Sunday morning, “until the situation changes”.

The White Rock Theatre was closed on Friday due to the water supply issue.

Churchwood Primary Academy and St Paul’s Church of England Academy in St Leonards were also closed on Friday.

Four bottled water stations remain at the following locations:

  • Asda, St Leonards-on-Sea, TN37 7AA

  • Tesco - Church Wood Dr, St Leonards, Hastings, Saint Leonards-on-sea TN38 9RB

  • Sea Road, St Leonards, TN38 OAG

  • Hastings Academy, Rye Road, Hastings, TN35 5DN

A helpline number for vulnerable customers needing access to bottled water as a priority, or for other customer queries relating to the supply interruption, is 0330 303 0368.

Southern Water said: “We are grateful to our own people and others for their hard work volunteering and the various businesses letting us use their car parks.

“We do appreciate not everyone can get to them and we’re working with local communities to find additional ways to ensure access to water.

"It’s worth noting we also have 21 tankers in the area supplying health care venues, care homes and other sites of importance.

“Our engineering teams worked through the night to remove the broken pipe and replace it. Now the repair is completed we are recharging our network.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...