Ofwat Investigates South East Water After Prolonged Outages Leave Thousands Without Water

Water regulator Ofwat has launched a formal investigation into South East Water after weeks of supply failures across Kent and Sussex, with thousands of homes and businesses still without running water.

At the height of the disruption, around 30,000 properties lost their water supply. As of Thursday, the company said about 8,500 addresses were still affected, most of them in and around Tunbridge Wells, where some households have gone nearly a week without water.

Ofwat will look at whether South East Water breached its licence by failing to meet customer service standards or provide proper support during the outages. If regulators conclude that the company fell short, it could face enforcement action, including a fine of up to 10% of its turnover.

Lynn Parker, Ofwat’s senior director for enforcement, said the situation had been dire for weeks. “The last six weeks have been miserable for businesses and households across Kent and Sussex with repeated supply problems,” she said, adding that the disruption had hit daily life and local businesses hard, especially before Christmas.

The investigation follows mounting political pressure. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the situation as “totally unacceptable”, while ministers asked Ofwat to review the company’s licence. A major incident was declared earlier this week, and Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds has visited Tunbridge Wells to meet local leaders and South East Water’s chair.

South East Water has blamed Storm Goretti, power cuts and burst mains for the repeated failures. Incident manager Matthew Dean said crews have been working “around the clock” but admitted that recovery has been slower than hoped. “Despite our best efforts, the local drinking water storage tanks have not refilled at the speed required,” he said, explaining why outages in Tunbridge Wells have had to be extended. The company says its goal is for customers there to “wake up to a consistent water supply” on Friday.

Elsewhere, supplies have been restored to 16,500 properties in East Grinstead, as well as thousands of homes in Loose, Coxheath and parts of Tonbridge. Bottled water stations have been set up across the region, with deliveries prioritised for vulnerable customers.

The impact has gone beyond households. Several schools have closed, including Skinners’ Kent Academy in Tunbridge Wells, whose head teacher cited “an exhausting cycle of events made more problematic by the lack of communication”. Local businesses have also been hit, with one restaurant owner saying the outage was costing £1,000 a day.

Consumer groups say frustration is boiling over. Mike Keil, chief executive of the Consumer Council for Water, said customers are “feeling anxious and uncertain every time they turn on the tap”, adding that many are “impatient for change after suffering repeated service failures, compounded by poor communication”.

South East Water’s leadership is also under scrutiny. Chief executive David Hinton has already faced tough questioning from MPs, and the Commons environment committee has called him and the company’s chair back for more evidence. Some MPs have publicly called for Hinton to resign, though the company insists he is “absolutely working as hard as everybody else behind the scenes”.

South East Water said it would “always fully co-operate with any investigation by regulators and provide any information required”. Ofwat has stressed that this new probe is separate from two earlier investigations already under way into the company’s supply resilience and drinking water standards.