A sudden power cut on Friday caused significant disruption at a South East Water treatment plant, resulting in a shutdown that has affected water supply to 8,000 homes, businesses, and a hospital in the Tunbridge Wells area.
Technicians have been working around the clock to repair the damage, but progress has been slow due to the industrial scale and complexity of the plant. In the meantime, residents in Hawkhurst, Wadhurst, Rye, and surrounding areas are advised to use emergency water stations established to help alleviate the crisis.
The emergency water stations are located at the following sites:
- The Fowlers Car Park, Rye Road, Hawkhurst (TN18 4PQ)
- The Dale Hill Hotel and Golf Club, Wadhurst
- Northiam Village Hall, Frewen Close, Rye (TN31 6AF)
These stations will remain open until 9 p.m. today and are providing bottled water to those affected by the outage.
South East Water is also prioritising assistance for vulnerable customers through its Priority Services Register. Staff members are personally delivering bottled water to those most in need.
Nick Bell, South East Water Incident Manager, said: “We’re very sorry to customers in Matfield, Goudhurst, Pembury, Kilndown, Hawkhurst, Northiam, Sandhurst, and nearby parts of Kent and East Sussex who are still facing low pressure or no water. Our technicians have been on site 24/7 working hard to bring the plant back online as soon as possible, but this is taking time.”
The power cut on Friday caused multiple failures at the water treatment plant, forcing it to shut down. With the plant offline, water supplies in the area’s storage have run dangerously low.
Customers can register for Priority Services at southeastwater.co.uk/priority for extra support. Residents are urged to remain patient as crews continue to work tirelessly to restore normal water services.
South East Water thanked customers for their continued patience during this weekend’s water supply emergency.
Originally published by UKNIP.
