Overview
- South East Water said about 16,500 homes in East Grinstead lost mains supply, with Uckfield, Eastbourne and Pevensey now experiencing low pressure or intermittent service.
- The utility blamed Storm Goretti for cutting treatment capacity and said freeze–thaw bursts across the network exhausted local drinking-water storage.
- Two bottled-water sites opened in East Grinstead at Sainsbury’s Brooklands Way and Queensway Car Park, supported by tanker deployments, and the company warned normal service may not return before the end of the weekend.
- Priority Services Register customers are receiving bottled-water deliveries, while long queues at distribution points caused town-centre gridlock and some businesses closed.
- Environment minister Mary Creagh convened an emergency response meeting as MPs voiced concerns over repeated failures and corporate governance at South East Water.