South East Water warns of water outages in Coxheath and Ulcombe near Maidstone and Shadoxhurst and Kingsnorth near Ashford after Storm Isha
21:01, 22 January 2024
updated: 21:02, 22 January 2024
Residents are experiencing no water and low-pressure issues from taps after pumping issues caused in the aftermath of Storm Isha.
Since about 7.15pm, homes in the Coxheath and Ulcombe areas near Maidstone and Shadoxhurst and Kingsnorth near Ashford have seen supplies dwindle to less than normal.
South East Water has since set a warning to those affected saying it has “an issue at our site which means we are unable to pump the water”.
It continued: “We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused and reassure customers that we are working hard to fix the issue as quickly as possible.”
The issue has rallied up discussion online with people voicing how badly they are affected.
Thomas Bowden wrote: “Couldn’t even fill the kettle for a cuppa. Gutted.”
Nick Stanton wrote: “The cold is picking up but the hot is still rubbish.”
Barry Arthur Humphrey said: “SEW are blaming it on Storm Isha due to power cuts for pumping, more leaks, bursts etc.”
South East Water has also warned customers about potential problems following Storm Isha which rolled into Kent overnight on Sunday.
The company said: “Following the storm, power cuts and an increase in burst water mains have impacted the amount of water stored within our drinking water storage tanks in Kent and Sussex, with some being at low levels.
“Our teams are continuing to work hard throughout today to locate and repair bursts, as well as move water around our hidden network of underground pipes to get water to those areas which need it most.
“At this stage we do not know which, if any, area may lose water supply for short periods today, however our 24-hour incident team is working hard in the background.”
People are now receiving bottled deliveries across the affected areas.
Sylvia Davies posted: “I have had a delivery in Amsbury Road. They don’t knock, they just leave it on the step so check.”
South East Water has labelled an estimated completion time of 12.15am tomorrow (January 23) to fix the incident in Coxheath and midnight for the Kingsnorth and Shadoxhurst issue and affected residents are advised to check for updates via the South East Water website.
The company added: “If problems begin to emerge our communications team will issue messaging to those affected communities providing regular updates on the situation, as well as update this webpage an our In Your Area Map.
“We were well prepared ahead of Storm Isha’s arrival, having learned from previous storms such as Franklin and Ciarán, and put measures in place to reduce the likelihood of our sites being affected by power cuts.
“An incident team was set up and our key water treatment works and pumping stations were switched to operating on generators with additional generators issued where possible.”
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