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More than 24,000 left without water after Kent town runs dry

2025-11-30 18:18
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More than 24,000 left without water after Kent town runs dry

South East Water apologised for the situation which has affected some 24,000 people living in Tunbridge Wells.

More than 24,000 left without water after Kent town runs dry Ryan Prosser Ryan Prosser Published November 30, 2025 6:18pm Updated November 30, 2025 6:18pm Share this article via whatsappShare this article via xCopy the link to this article.Link is copiedShare this article via facebook Comment now Comments Chaos as Tunbridge Wells Water Treatment Shutdown Leaves 6,000 Homes Dry More than 6,000 Tunbridge Wells residents have been left high and dry after the Pembury water treatment works was forced to shut down due to a "bad chemical batch." Emergency Water Supplies in Place ??? No One Running Dry Despite the disruption causing major headaches, South East Water insists no emergency water stations have run out. Bottled water is being handed out and a station at Tunbridge Wells Sports Centre is open until 10pm tonight, supplying thirsty locals with up to 12 bottles per household. The company???s incident manager, Matthew Dean, apologised to affected customers and reassured: ???The water currently in supply is safe and does not require boiling.??? Police Called In as Traffic Gridlock Hits Town The water outage didn???t just cause dry taps; it also sparked traffic chaos as residents flocked to collection points. Police were called to manage the confusion and keep order at bottled water stations across the area. South East Water is working round the clock, moving water from other areas and replacing the faulty chemical batch to restore normal supply. Special Care for Vulnerable and Essential Services 1,700 vulnerable customers on the Priority Services Register have had bottled water delivered directly to their homes. Care homes have received emergency water supplies. Tunbridge Wells Hospital is supported with a water tanker to keep vital services running. MP Mike Martin, who is also affected by the outage, posted on X: ???Site moving quickly, further sites being set up in town centre.??? Meanwhile, the Black Horse pub on Camden Road has been forced to close as it has had no running water since midnight. Issue Expected to Be Fixed by 6pm South East Water expects to resolve the problem by 6pm today. Until then, residents are urged to use the bottled water stations and remain patient. Tunbridge Wells residents collect bottled water from a designated centre as a water outage has left tens of thousands without supply (Picture: UKNIP)

Tens of thousands of people were left with either no running water or low pressure after a water shortage gripped a town.

South East Water apologised for the situation which has affected some 24,000 people living in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

It said that supply had been interrupted due to a water treatment plant having to shut down, leaving drinking water stocks running low.

A bottled water station set up at Tunbridge Wells Sports Centre quickly ran out this morning as concerned locals raced for supplies. It was forced to temporarily close to replenish stocks.

Another centre set up at Sovereign Way has since closed due to the winter festival due to take place in the town, with a replacement being currently being looked for.

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Around 1,700 priority customers who are unable to collect water in person will have bottles delivered to their homes, South West Water confirmed.

The water board estimated it would take until at least 6am on Sunday for supply to resume to all customers in the area.

Frustrated residents complained about the disruption as well as chaos at bottled water centres, where some people reported waiting hours to pick up packs.

Chaos as Tunbridge Wells Water Treatment Shutdown Leaves 6,000 Homes Dry More than 6,000 Tunbridge Wells residents have been left high and dry after the Pembury water treatment works was forced to shut down due to a "bad chemical batch." Emergency Water Supplies in Place ??? No One Running Dry Despite the disruption causing major headaches, South East Water insists no emergency water stations have run out. Bottled water is being handed out and a station at Tunbridge Wells Sports Centre is open until 10pm tonight, supplying thirsty locals with up to 12 bottles per household. The company???s incident manager, Matthew Dean, apologised to affected customers and reassured: ???The water currently in supply is safe and does not require boiling.??? Police Called In as Traffic Gridlock Hits Town The water outage didn???t just cause dry taps; it also sparked traffic chaos as residents flocked to collection points. Police were called to manage the confusion and keep order at bottled water stations across the area. South East Water is working round the clock, moving water from other areas and replacing the faulty chemical batch to restore normal supply. Special Care for Vulnerable and Essential Services 1,700 vulnerable customers on the Priority Services Register have had bottled water delivered directly to their homes. Care homes have received emergency water supplies. Tunbridge Wells Hospital is supported with a water tanker to keep vital services running. MP Mike Martin, who is also affected by the outage, posted on X: ???Site moving quickly, further sites being set up in town centre.??? Meanwhile, the Black Horse pub on Camden Road has been forced to close as it has had no running water since midnight. Issue Expected to Be Fixed by 6pm South East Water expects to resolve the problem by 6pm today. Until then, residents are urged to use the bottled water stations and remain patient. Locals queue up for bottled water. South East Water said it hoped to resume supply to all customers in the area by 6am tomorrow. (Picture: UKNIP)

One wrote on Facebook: ‘My son waited at the water bottle station in Tonbridge for 2 hours this morning, along with many others.

‘The lorry full of bottled water is there with another full lorry waiting down the road. They aren’t allowed to unload the water as there has to be a rep from SE Water there! Disgusting.’

Mother-of-two Nicola Hodgson from nearby Pantilles said her husband hadunsuccessfully tried to get water supplies at the sports centre this morning.

‘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 told the BBC.

Local businesses reported being forced to close over the weekend due to the ongoing outage.

Indian takeaway Spice Fusion told its customers: ‘Please note that Spice Fusion will remain closed tonight due to a water interruption in Tunbridge Wells which makes it impossible for us to operate safely and maintain our hygiene standards.

‘We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.

‘We will reopen as soon as the water supply is restored.’

Chaos as Tunbridge Wells Water Treatment Shutdown Leaves 6,000 Homes Dry More than 6,000 Tunbridge Wells residents have been left high and dry after the Pembury water treatment works was forced to shut down due to a "bad chemical batch." Emergency Water Supplies in Place ??? No One Running Dry Despite the disruption causing major headaches, South East Water insists no emergency water stations have run out. Bottled water is being handed out and a station at Tunbridge Wells Sports Centre is open until 10pm tonight, supplying thirsty locals with up to 12 bottles per household. The company???s incident manager, Matthew Dean, apologised to affected customers and reassured: ???The water currently in supply is safe and does not require boiling.??? Police Called In as Traffic Gridlock Hits Town The water outage didn???t just cause dry taps; it also sparked traffic chaos as residents flocked to collection points. Police were called to manage the confusion and keep order at bottled water stations across the area. South East Water is working round the clock, moving water from other areas and replacing the faulty chemical batch to restore normal supply. Special Care for Vulnerable and Essential Services 1,700 vulnerable customers on the Priority Services Register have had bottled water delivered directly to their homes. Care homes have received emergency water supplies. Tunbridge Wells Hospital is supported with a water tanker to keep vital services running. MP Mike Martin, who is also affected by the outage, posted on X: ???Site moving quickly, further sites being set up in town centre.??? Meanwhile, the Black Horse pub on Camden Road has been forced to close as it has had no running water since midnight. Issue Expected to Be Fixed by 6pm South East Water expects to resolve the problem by 6pm today. Until then, residents are urged to use the bottled water stations and remain patient. Families are relying on emergency bottle supplies (Picture: UKNIP)

Eating establishments are unable to open by law without working toilets, including takeaways which must have them available for staff.

Teresa Barrett, the landlady of the Black Horse, said she had no choice but to close today as her pub had been without water since midnight.

She added that she ‘couldn’t afford’ to be closed given the current trading environment and said that hospitality was losing an ‘extreme amount of money’ due to the disruption.

South East Water said in a statement earlier today: ‘We’re sorry to customers in the Tunbridge Wells area who continue to have no water or low pressure. This is due to an issue at our Pembury Water Treatment Works, resulting in the site shutting down.

‘This has caused the dependent local drinking water storage tanks to run low. ‘

It added: ‘Our customer care team has been delivering bottles of water to all customers on our Priority Services Register who have indicated to us that they would be unable to collect water from a bottled water station. ‘

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