Thousands of people remain without water and schools have been forced to shut after a treatment works closed down over the weekend in Kent.
The Pembury Water Treatment Works in Tunbridge Wells was closed on Saturday after what South East Water (SEW) described as a “chemical issue”.
At least 23,000 customers have been affected, many still with low pressure or without a water supply on Monday.
Tunbridge Wells MP Mike Martin said the supply issue meant some schools in the area remained shut on the first day of the week, urging parents to check specifically with their children’s school to see if it is opening.
Here’s all you need to know.
What caused the problem?
MP Mr Martin wrote on X that the problem was caused by a “bad batch of coagulant chemicals”. It meant water was not being pumped into storage tanks, resulting in low levels.
Coagulant chemicals are used in both drinking and wastewater treatment. They work by causing tiny particles in the water to clump together, making them more easily spotted and removed in the next stages of the process.
A new batch of the chemical was received on Sunday, according to Mr Martin, but SEW said refilling storage tanks needs to be done slowly to avoid any further issues to the network.
When will the water supply be restored?
SEW said on Monday it estimates the issue will be fixed by 2pm on 1 December. This was extended after the company initially said the water supply would be restored at 6am.
Once the storage tanks at Pembury Water Treatment works are at a good level, SEW said it will send drinking water to the tank at Blackhurst, which supplies the whole of Tunbridge Wells.
It said residents may experience brown, white or cloudy water when the supply is returned, all of which is normal and due to naturally occurring deposits which settle and build up within the network.
How have residents been impacted?
In addition to minimal or no water supply getting to households, schools, businesses, libraries, community centres and sports centres have not been able to open as they have no water.
Tunbridge Wells Sports Centre and The Camden Centre community hall posted on Facebook to say they were closed on Monday.
While more than 10 secondary and primary schools did not open, according to the Kent County Council website, all cited that they had no water.
Many residents took to social media to express their frustrations at the outage.
Teresa Barrett, from the Black Horse pub in Tunbridge, told BBC Radio Kent it had been “difficult” and would like guidance on “how we can claim compensation”.
The water company has said it will address compensation for affected customers automatically once the incident is fully resolved.
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Where are bottled water stations located?
Multiple bottled water stations have been set up in the area to distribute water to local residents until supplies are fully restored.
The following stations opened on Monday from 8:30am:
• Tunbridge Wells Sports Centre, St John’s Rd, Royal Tunbridge Wells TN4 9TX
• RCP Parking, Tunbridge Wells, TN2 5TP
• Odeon Cinema Knights Way, Tunbridge Wells TN2 3UW
SEW said it had delivered bottled water to more than 2,000 of its most vulnerable customers.
