Ulcombe in Kent without water for over 5 days
Residents say more needs to be done to fix the system
Those living at the top of the hill in Ulcombe Village, Kent, have been without water since last Friday.
According to South East Water's website this is "a result of high demand for drinking water in the hot weather, water is being used faster than we can refill our pipework. We are delivering to customers again today who are impacted by the ongoing supply issues. We're really sorry for the disruption this causes."
Jane Bourne, who has lived in the area for fourteen years and is currently affected by the shortages told us: "It's incredibly tiresome because it is not just the last week.
"South East Water have consistently let us down with water from May. So it's just been incredibly difficult. You wake up on the day and the tap isn't functioning and you then talk to neighbours.
On how the service could improve Bourne added: "One thing I suggest they do is look down their ranks in South East Water. Because often the people who know best about providing water who are they are those on the ground, the water engineers, and to stop shipping in people who are at managerial level and who have come from other industries."
Wendy Saunders lives further down the road in Ulcombe village, while unaffected in this most recent incident, she agrees that the issue has been an ongoing problem in the area:
"We have affected by water outages in the last 4 years on and off. But so far this week we've been good. But the top of the hill get it worse than we do.
"It is very bad in this area.
"A couple of months ago, it would just go off. And then we'd get bottled water, which would be delivered. But you can't wash wash up. You can't wash your cups and saucers. Bottled water doesn't go far when you want to flush the toilet.
"What happens is you think 'well shall I put the washing machine on? Shall I put the dishwasher on?' So, yeah, it's always in the back of my mind that I'm going to run out of water."
She added that restrictions such as hosepipe bans increase worry in warmer weather, while ongoing plans to build housing in the area were leading to concern around an even more uncertain future.
On the topic of response time Saunders added:
"I think because it's a rural village, they tend to get get left a lot. Because obviously it's small news, isn't it, in a small village."