Overview
- About 24,000 properties lost safe drinking water from 30 November, with a boil-water notice lifted on 12 December after a shutdown at the Pembury treatment works.
- The Drinking Water Inspectorate said deterioration was noticed on 9 November and that South East Water was relying on manual checks without real-time monitoring, with appropriate tests last done in July.
- Inspectors said the immediate issue was a coagulant that stopped working, while the company pointed to a rare change in raw water chemistry and said a backup chemical should have been available.
- Chief executive David Hinton apologized, blamed higher at-home demand, housing growth and climate pressures, and scored the firm eight out of ten for its response and six out of ten for communication and prevention.
- The regulator highlighted limited sanctioning powers and noted a still-unfitted microfiltration unit, as South East Water faces financial strain after an Ofwat watchlist designation and a £200m investor cash injection.