Tunbridge Wells faces another water outage as South East Water boss faces scrutiny
Bottled water stations open as uncertainty continues over supplies
Last updated 7th Jan 2026
Residents in Tunbridge Wells are facing another water outage just weeks after a previous crisis affected 24,000 customers in the area.
South East Water confirmed disruptions to supplies yesterday at approximately 1500.
The firm says it is due to a series of bursts in the area at the start of the year, causing ongoing challenges with maintaining drinking water levels in storage tanks.
This prevented booster pumps from functioning properly.
The company says the booster was turned back on yesterday evening (6 January) however the tanks have "drained lower than the boosters are able to run at. This means that customers on grounds higher than the tank may be experiencing no water or low pressure."
South East Water released an update this morning, stating that while drinking water storage tank levels had seen some recovery overnight, supplies remain unstable.
They added that icy conditions and thawing ground have contributed to further leakages, complicating repair efforts.
“Although water is returning, around 500 properties remain affected, and supplies are likely to be intermittent throughout the day. "
The company has confirmed that additional tankers and repair teams are being deployed to alleviate the issue, but no timeline has been provided for full restoration of service.
“We know how disruptive this water outage is and are incredibly sorry to all customers and businesses impacted by this,” the company’s statement read.
Tankers causing traffic
Affected Tunbridge Wells resident Brooke Ribbens tells us tankers have been near her house, on Blackhurst Lane "round the clock even on Christmas Day".
"I'm a bit bemused by all the excuses South East Water keep coming up with given there has been tankers here since Christmas Day".
"They've been causing real issues with traffic as access is tricky, especially now schools have gone back.
"They've caused damage as well to surrounding roads."
"Clearly there is a much bigger problem here" says Brooke Ribbens.
Criticism of South East Water management
Yesterday, when the outage started, South East Water Chief Executive David Hinton appeared before the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee in Parliament.
He faced scrutiny about the company's handling of a previous water crisis in Tunbridge Wells and was criticised for a lack of accountability and communication during the emergency.
Marcus Rink, chief inspector at the Drinking Water Inspectorate, told MPs that failures at the Pembury Water Treatment Works in late 2025 highlighted a lack of visibility and planning within South East Water, describing the company as “flying blind” prior to the problems escalating.
Further criticism was leveled at Mr Hinton for delays in sharing key information with customers during the previous outage, which saw the introduction of a boil notice lasting until 12th December 2025.
One committee member said they were “quite shocked” at the “lack of accountability” demonstrated by the CEO during questioning.
Compensation for businesses
While 95% of the affected customers during earlier outages were domestic households, businesses have been allocated £1.9 million out of South East Water’s £16.5 million compensation pot.
Mr Hinton defended the company’s response, blaming regional infrastructure challenges and inadequate investment for ongoing failures.
Bottled water supplies for today
South East Water's support teams are delivering bottled water directly to vulnerable individuals on the Priority Services Register while waiting for broader recovery efforts to take effect.
Two bottled water stations will be open from 10:00am at:
Tunbridge Wells Rugby Football Club, St. Marks Recreation Ground, Tunbridge Wells TN2 5LS
Bidborough Village Hall, Bidborough Ridge, Bidborough, Tunbridge Wells TN3 0XD
For updates and more details, SEW has urged customers to keep up to date using their interactive map here: https://aqualerter.southeastwater.co.uk/interruption/139615
“Once again, we are sorry to customers and businesses impacted by this" SEW tells us in a statement.