cash murphy,south east
BBCA water company has confirmed that around 24,000 customers are without water in Kent and the problem is set to continue overnight.
On Saturday, South East Water (SEW) apologized to customers in the Tunbridge Wells area who were experiencing a water outage or low pressure due to a problem with treatment works.
Earlier, SEW had delayed the anticipated 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 the chemical was received on Sunday.
South East Water incident manager, Mark Sims, said the firm was aware of about 24,000 customers who were without water.
He said: “We are continuing to move water around and tanker into the network to try to bring as much supply back as possible.
“We have received a new batch of the affected chemical this morning and the necessary water quality testing is currently underway.”
Bottled water stations were set up at Tunbridge Wells Sports Centre, St John’s Road, Tunbridge Wells and at the Sovereign Way East car park in Tonbridge.
“However, due to the winter festivals in Tonbridge, we have closed the Sovereign Way bottled water station,” Mr Sims said.
Another bottled water station is expected to open in the RCP parking lot in Tunbridge Wells.
“We are awaiting delivery of bottled water. We will let you know when the station is ready for use,” Mr Sims said.
Nicola Hodgson, who lives near Pentiles in Tunbridge Wells, was among customers questioning why the first water station was installed in a “completely different town”.
She said her husband “tried to go to Tonbridge water station first thing this morning and there was nothing”.
“We have two small children aged five and seven, so (they) have gone to their grandmother’s place for now so we can give them something to drink and build a functioning toilet,” he added.
Tunbridge Wells MP Mike Martin said he was also without water and had spoken to the chief executive of SEW.
He wrote on X: “For those who aren’t aware, the problem was caused by a bad batch of coagulant chemicals.
“A new set of chemicals has been purchased and teams have been working through the night to clean the Pembury Treatment Works.”
Meanwhile, Teresa Barrett, who runs the Black Horse in Camden Road, said the pub had been without water since midnight.
She said: “Sadly this means it’s illegal for us to open it. I would open it if I could.”
Losing a day’s trade would be “extremely damaging”, the landlady said, adding: “I can’t afford to close, I can’t lose a day’s trade in the current climate.
“Things are extremely difficult for hospitality at the moment, businesses across the sector may have been preparing for table bookings today and may have lost huge amounts of money, (and) staff will still need to be paid.”
Peter Vincent, who lives in Grove Hill, said he noticed “the cistern was not filling properly” on Sunday morning.
“We’ll know the flow and pressure coming down the hill from the main road,” he told BBC Radio Kent.
“For us to slow down like that, it’s going to be very difficult for some people in the city when they all start draining their water.”
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