Thousands of people in Whitstable, Kent, are without a water supply as storage reservoirs for the area have reached a critical level during the ongoing heatwave. Long queues formed at a bottled water collection point at a Sainsbury's near the town on Thursday, as South East Water confirmed that 8,000 customers were affected.
Water Company Urges Conservation
South East Water has urged customers to use water only for essential purposes such as drinking, washing, and cooking, as supply issues continue following the hot bank holiday weekend. Incident manager Steve Benton stated that tap water supply in Whitstable is expected to return later on Thursday but may remain intermittent over the weekend.
In addition to Whitstable, approximately 7,000 customers in Tankerton, Ashford, and surrounding areas, including Ulcombe, Cranbrook, Coxheath, and Headcorn, are experiencing low pressure or intermittent supply. Another 7,000 customers are at risk of losing supply today, Benton added.
Record Water Usage
South East Water pumped 628 million litres of water to customers on Wednesday alone. Over the weekend, the company treated and pumped more than 100 million litres above the daily average for May, highlighting the unprecedented demand.
Benton said: 'Customers across Kent are still experiencing water supply issues due to extremely high demand during the very hot weather. We are doing everything we can to get treated water into our storage reservoirs, but some customers will continue to have intermittent water supply until these levels have been restored.'
Leadership and Scrutiny
Earlier this month, South East Water's chief executive David Hinton announced plans to step down, following the resignation of group chairman Chris Train. Their departures came after a scathing report by MPs, who expressed no confidence in the company's leadership. The scrutiny intensified after thousands of customers were left without tap water, showers, or flushing toilets during outages between November and January.
Council Action
On Thursday, Kent County Council announced the formation of a new strategic partnership to oversee water resilience in the county. The Kent Water Resilience Partnership, chaired by council leader Linden Kemkaran, will include water companies, local authorities, regulators, and other stakeholders to focus on planning, performance, and public accountability.
Kemkaran stated: 'While the authority does not have direct power over water companies, we do have a responsibility to stand up for Kent.' The partnership aims to address water issues transparently and ensure long-term resilience.
