Overview
- South East Water says supplies have been restored to most customers after nearly a week of disruption, with bottled water sites kept open as a precaution.
- The company reported around 30,000 customers were without water or facing low pressure at the peak, and some households had no running water for up to six days.
- SEW attributed the latest outages to Storm Goretti causing burst pipes and power cuts, following earlier explanations of a freeze–thaw that damaged infrastructure.
- Ofwat’s two investigations focus on customer service obligations and maintaining supply, with possible enforcement that could include fines of up to 10% of annual turnover.
- Public frustration has escalated into residents canceling direct debits and school closures, while last month’s separate Tunbridge Wells failure affecting about 24,000 properties underscores broader infrastructure concerns and looming investment needs.