Some West Kent properties still without water for third day

A number of homes in West Kent have been without water for the third consecutive day following the bursting of a pipe linked to a treatment works. The disruption began on Thursday morning when a major main pipe from Bewl Water Treatment Works, located in East Sussex, suffered a fault. This affected residents in Brenchley, Matfield, Pembury, Lamberhurst, and nearby villages.

According to South East Water (SEW), approximately 5,850 properties lost their water supply due to the issue. Although the burst pipe was repaired by Thursday afternoon, many homes, especially those situated on higher ground in Brenchley and Pembury, have yet to see their water restored, as air trapped within the system is causing difficulties. SEW indicated on Friday morning that it expected most affected households to have water restored by the end of the day.

The water company expressed regret over the ongoing problems, explaining that airlocks had posed complications during the night. Technicians remained on site, working as quickly as they could to resolve the issues. In response to the water shortages, two bottled water distribution points were set up by Saturday morning—one at Matfield Village Hall and another at Tesco Superstore in Pembury—to assist residents affected by the outage.

This incident comes amid increased scrutiny of SEW, as the water regulator Ofwat launched an investigation back in January due to a series of previous supply failures impacting thousands of homes. Earlier in March, SEW’s chief executive David Hinton explained to East Sussex councillors that prior widespread failures stemmed from freeze-thaw cycles causing pipes to burst, compounded by Storm Goretti. At the peak of those problems, around 30,000 properties were left without water for several days, during which Hinton faced demands for his resignation

Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More