South East Water apology after days of no supply

David Hinton, chief executive of South East Water, has said sorry to customers across East Sussex after more than 2,000 residents in Crowborough, Rotherfield, Mayfield and Wadhurst experienced a complete lack of water or low pressure from Sunday, June 11 to the following Friday.

Schools and businesses had to shut and animals were in danger of death by dehydration.

In the letter, Mr Hinton explained the reasons for the shortage and how the company is trying to prevent it from happening again.

David Hinton has apologised to customers (Image: South East Water)

Writing to customers, Mr Hinton said: “Despite our best efforts, the severe conditions in the run up to June 16 meant that some customers were affected by low pressure or no water.

“We are sincerely sorry to those affected and want to reassure impacted customers that they will be compensated in line with our guaranteed standards of service.

“In exceptionally dry periods and when dealing with surges in usage, the most effective short-term strategy for ensuring supply is rapidly reducing demand.”

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He said there were three key factors which led the shortage, being changing consumption habits, low rainfall and hot weather.

To prevent the shortage from happening again, Mr Hinton outlined South East Water’s plans for the future.

He mentioned proposals to build a new reservoir at Canterbury, increasing connectivity in hard to reach areas and increasing storage tanks.

The company also plans to address leaks in the system.

Mr Hinton wrote: “With more extreme weather – in winter as well as summer – we are investing nearly £40 million a year in resources to address leakage across our network as pipes come under increasing strain from extreme fluctuations in temperature.”

South East Water has now announced a hosepipe ban for Sussex and Kent which comes into effect from June 26 and supply has returned.

“We deeply regret falling short of our high standards and want to assure you that we are doing everything that we can to plan and build for the future – ensuring a reliable and uninterrupted water supply,” wrote Mr Hinton.