South East Water criticised over supply crisis response

Water companies should plan better alternative supply for priority businesses in the wake of recent supply failures, according to a report.

Kent councillors made eight recommendations after an inquiry into water supply problems for tens of thousands of South East Water customers.

These included that water companies should identify high-water-use businesses "to prioritise" and "plan realistic alternative supply options beyond bottled water".

South East Water said it was "updating our emergency procedures, improving customer experience and working with local authorities across Kent to bolster our alternative water provision".

About 24,000 properties in and around Tunbridge Wells lost water or had low pressure for a week in November and December.

For the following nine days, residents were told to boil the restored tap water before consumption.

Just weeks later, as many as 30,000 properties across Kent and Sussex were hit with more issues.

The Kent County Council report found "hospitality, retail and other water-dependent sectors were especially affected" and the "pre-Christmas timing" exacerbated financial losses.

"The farming sector was disproportionately exposed to water supply interruptions due to very high daily water requirements, animal welfare and rural access constraints," councillors said.

The water company's emergency provisions were "not designed for livestock or agricultural operations" and bottled water schemes were "wholly unsuitable" for the sector, according to the findings.

The report noted bottled water stations were "poorly sited" with limited accessibility in rural areas, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"Bottled water distribution models, designed primarily for short-duration domestic outages, did not scale effectively to multi-day incidents affecting whole communities," it said.

Schools and care settings were closed "not because of absolute loss but due to insufficient clarity".

Councillors wrote that South East Water's communication with residents and public bodies was "overly optimistic and not aligned with operational reality".

Notifications did not reach key responders, leaving the council to step in to alert other agencies, the inquiry found.

South East Water's chief executive David Hinton announced his resignation on Friday following months of pressure over the supply problems.

His exit came seven days after Chris Train, the company's chairman, quit in the wake of a damning select committee report into the issues.

Douglas Whitfield, South East Water's water supply director, apologised to customers and said a works programme to "reduce the risk of network outages" was under way.

"Customers can be assured that we are working at pace to complete our full programme of works and are keeping them updated on our progress," he said.

The report is being discussed by the council's scrutiny committee on Wednesday.

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