Trust in South East Water ‘weakened’ after winter water outages
Water outages have affected tens of thousands of customers over the winter with some now storing bottled water at home, research has suggested
Trust in South East Water was “materially weakened” from water outages affecting tens of thousands of customers over the winter with some now storing bottled water at home, research has suggested.
A report published by the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) found less than one in 10 customers surveyed were satisfied with how the water firm handled the incidents in November/December and January.
Around half of respondents said they now store bottled water at home following the incidents.
During the November/December outages 26% of respondents did not feel it was clear what they needed to do to access safe drinking water, rising to 41% in January.
The report, jointly commissioned by regulator Ofwat, found that while customers accepted outages can happen, South East Water’s response fell short in key areas such as communication and inconsistent support for vulnerable customers.
Chief executive of CCW, Mike Keil, said: “Our research lays bare the scale of disruption inflicted on the lives of tens of thousands of South East Water customers last winter.
“Perhaps the most damaging legacy is the loss of confidence among some South East Water customers in the safety and reliability of their drinking water – despite the UK’s reputation for world-class tap water.”
The report added trust was weakened not only by the outages, “but the perception that leadership lacked visibility, empathy and ownership”.
South East Water chief executive David Hinton, who announced his plans to step down last month following the fallout, said the company welcomes the report as he apologised to customers for the “unacceptable” water outages.
“We recognise the serious impact this had on our customers and know that we fell short of what is expected of us,” he said.
“We are taking direct action to change the way supply interruptions are managed by updating our emergency procedures, improving customer experience and working with local authorities to bolster our alternative water provision.”
Thousands of customers were left unable to access tap water, shower or flush their toilets during the outages between November and January.
The report detailed 24,000 households and businesses in Tunbridge Wells in Kent and surrounding areas were hit by the outages in November/December last year, after South East Water suffered a water quality failure at Pembury Water Treatment Works.
Meanwhile, the January 2026 outages affected “potentially” 69,000 properties, including parts of Tunbridge Wells, Canterbury/Blean, Staplehurst in Kent, and East Grinstead, Ashurst Wood and Forest Row in West and East Sussex.
The January supply problem was a combination of weather-related and network resilience issues, reduced capacity to treat water at a normal level and freeze-thaw conditions causing multiple burst mains across the region.
The report said the research suggests the biggest damage was not only the loss of supply itself but the “uncertainty, repeated changes to restoration times and a sense that the company was not fully in control”.
“This has had a lasting effect on trust, with many customers now more cautious about relying on tap water and less confident that future incidents will be handled better unless there is visible evidence of learning and improvement,” it said.
Ofwat launched an investigation into South East Water in January after the supply problems, and is expected to complete its probe by the end of the year.
The report comes as thousands more people in parts of Kent have been hit by further outages since the bank holiday weekend during the hot spell of weather.
Mr Keil said CCW recognises South East Water has committed to strengthening its resilience and improving support for customers “but the most recent heatwave disruption suggests the company remains a long way from getting a full grip of its network”.
He added: “The problems which have plagued the company in recent years point to deeper cultural issues that its new leadership must urgently address.”
On Wednesday, South East Water said of the most recent outages in Kent that drinking water has returned to all customers hit by the water supply interruptions “caused by exceptionally high demand”.
Incident manager Phil Jones said that drinking water levels in the company’s storage tanks are still low and continued to urge customers to use water for essential purposes only such as drinking, cooking and hygiene.
“There may be some small isolated areas experiencing intermittent supply issues while we stabilise the network, including in Wraik Hill and Chestfield, near Whitstable,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mr Hinton said that the company is “accelerating a programme of engineering works and operational changes” and is focusing on delivering the “most ambitious” long-term business plan to improve operational resilience and keep bills affordable.
An Ofwat spokesperson said: “We are closely monitoring the ongoing water supply interruptions affecting customers in Kent. The operational and financial turnaround of South East Water is essential, and we expect the company’s management to grip this issue quickly.
“We have already proposed a £22 million fine following multiple supply interruptions in Kent and Sussex between 2020 and 2023. The company is also subject to an ongoing investigation into customer care during the supply outages in late 2025 and early 2026.”