Tunbridge Wells water issues set to continue through the night

A water supply issue affecting about 6,000 customers in a Kent town is set to continue through the night, a water company has said.

South East Water (SEW) apologised to customers experiencing a loss of water or low pressure on Saturday due to an issue at a treatment works.

The latest update on the water company’s website has estimated the issue will be resolved by Monday at 06:00 GMT.

Matthew Dean, head of operations control, said Pembury Water Treatment Works had stopped working “due to a bad chemical batch”.

A new batch of the chemical was received on Sunday, he confirmed.

Mr Dean said the company was aware of “around 6,000 customers who are without water” and was carrying out “flow and pressure testing to get a more accurate figure of the number of customers who are experiencing no water or low pressure”.

He added: “We have also moved water around the network from other areas to keep as many customers in supply as possible.

“We would like to assure you that the water out in supply at the moment is not affected by this and does not require boiling.”

On Saturday, one water station was open on Sovereign Road, in Tonbridge, until 22:00.

It was reopened on Sunday along with a second station at Tunbridge Wells Sports Centre on St John’s Road.

In a recent update, South East Water said the Sovereign Road station was due to close for the Tonbridge Rotary Christmas Festival. The water company is looking to relocate this water station.

Nicola Hodgson, who lives close to the Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells, was among customers questioning why the first water station was set up in an “entirely different town”.

She said her husband had tried to visit the Tonbridge water station “first thing this morning and there was nothing there”.

“We have two young children, aged five and seven, so [they] have decamped to their grandmothers for the moment, so we can get them something to drink and have working toilets,” she added.

Earlier, Tunbridge Wells MP Mike Martin said he was also without water and had spoken to the chief executive of SEW.

He wrote on X: “For those who are not aware, the problem has been caused by a bad batch of coagulant chemicals.

“A new set of chemicals have been procured and the team have been working through the night to clean out Pembury Treatment Works.”

Martin, who has visited the St John’s Road water station, said water crews on site were doing a “great job”.

Meanwhile, Teresa Barrett, who runs the Black Horse on Camden Road, said the pub had been without running water since midnight.

She said: “Sadly this means it is illegal for us to open… if I could, I would be opening.”

Losing a day of trading would be “extremely damaging”, the landlady said, adding: “I can’t afford to be closed, I can’t lose a day’s trading in the current climate.

“Things are hard enough for hospitality right now, businesses in this sector would have prepared for table bookings today and lost an extreme amount of money, [and] staff will still need to be paid.”

Peter Vincent, who lives at the bottom of Grove Hill, said he noticed that the “cistern wasn’t refilling properly” on Sunday morning.

“We would get the flow and the pressure coming down the hill from the mains,” he told BBC Radio Kent.

“For us to be slow like that, it’s going to be pretty hard for some people somewhere in the town when they all start drawing their water off.”