"South East Water don't have fix on what the problem is": MP repeats calls for boss resignation
Tunbridge Wells residents enter fifth day without water
The MP for Tunbridge Wells, Mike Martin, has described the ongoing water outage as a “disaster” and once again called for South East Water’s CEO, David Hinton, to resign over the handling of the crisis.
Despite initial promises that water supply would return to people’s taps yesterday, South East Water has reported a recurrence of the water quality issues that caused the shutdown of the Pembury Water Treatment Works on Saturday.
As a result, supply disruptions persist, and the MP says "it feels like we're back to square one."
"South East Water don't know when they are going to get the water on because they don't know what the problem is. There is currently no resolution time."
Mr Martin assured residents that if water does flow to taps, it is safe to drink. He said: "If this should change for any reason, this would be very clearly communicated, and I will be sure to let you know immediately."
We had an exact copy of this situation in 2022 and CEO Dave Hinton promised the resilience in the network would be improved and crisis management and communication would be sorted, and none of that has turned out to be true."
“I think the first stage in solving this problem at South East Water is changing the leadership,” Martin said. “Once we’ve done that, we can look at systems and processes within the organisation. It needs root and branch reform.”
The Liberal Democrat MP revealed that discussions with the water minister and Ofwat are ongoing, as national resources, including possible military support, are being considered.
Hotels and restaurants affected by the outage are reporting significant losses of thousands of pounds a day, and the MP has promised to push for maximum financial compensation once the crisis subsides.
Martin has paid tribute to families and individuals coping with the challenge, including care homes and medical centres unable to operate without water:
"There are people who cannot receive kidney dialysis because they don’t have water. Hospitals are closing operations, including Nuffield. This is what it means when you don’t have water," he said.
South East Water has apologised to affected customers saying they're working with councils and authorities to "find the best solutions" for those without supply.
Mr Martin has spoken to the Minister of Water, Emma Hardy: “I made sure she understood that if this water outage continues, we need national resources brought to bear in Tunbridge Wells."
“OFWAT are absolutely on our side, as is the Minister for Water,” he added.
Mobile toilets have been set up at Five Ways in the town centre to help residents navigate the crisis, with more being set up in the coming days.
Bottled water stations remain open at the following locations:
Tunbridge Wells Sports Centre, St John's Rd, TN4 9TX
RCP Parking, TN2 5TP
Odeon Cinema Knights Way, TN2 3UW
Updates on bottled water sites, mobile toilets, and further restoration plans are available at South East Water’s incident page: Aqualerter.