More than 830 homes facing water supply disruption in Kent villages

Up to 833 properties in three Kent villages have low pressure or no water for a second day, South East Water (SEW) says.

The company said the interruptions in the Charing, Challock and Molash areas started at about 19:45 BST on Saturday.

Incident manager, Mike Court, said SEW was sorry for the disruption, adding: “The prolonged hot, dry weather has reduced water levels in local storage tanks, impacting supplies to customers.”

A bottled water station has opened at Challock Village Hall, Blind Lane, Challock, Ashford, TN25 4AU, the water company said.

“We know disruption to customers’ drinking water supply is frustrating, especially during hot weather,” Court said.

“We fully acknowledge that this level of service is not acceptable, and our teams are working to resolve this issue as a matter of urgency.”

Court said SEW was moving water around the network to balance supplies, and bringing tankers to the area to support the local system.

Properties in the three villages were previously affected by water supply interruptions back in May.

Meanwhile, supplies to Benenden, Cranbrook and Rolvenden have been returned to the majority of customers.

Disruption in the area started on Saturday, affecting up to 1,383 properties.

SEW confirmed repairs to a burst water main on Swattenden Lane had been completed and the system recharged.

The company added that multiple pipe bursts and low water levels had caused airlocks in the network, affecting a small number of customers.

Engineers are working to clear them, and a bottled water station is open at The Weald Sports Centre in Cranbrook, the water company added.

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