South East Water faces fresh supply issues in Kent
An electrical fault is affecting a treatment works
Last updated 18th Jan 2026
There are yet more problems for South East Water, after major issues with its networks in Kent and Sussex a week ago.
Around 4,500 homes in the Maidstone area are without supplies.
Officials are blaming an electrical fault at a treatment works.
Customers are again having to resort to bottled water.
South East Water’s Incident Manager, Matthew Dean, said: “We’re sorry to customers currently impacted by the water supply interruptions across our network in Kent.
“A fault at a treatment works has caused water supply issues in several rural areas around Maidstone, affecting around 4,500 properties, predominantly in Harrietsham, Kingswood and the surrounding villages. We have resolved this issue, and are refilling the pipes slowly and carefully.
“Water supplies will continue to return to affected properties throughout today (Sunday, 18 January) and we expect supplies to be fully restored later today.
“Elsewhere, tankers are still being used to inject water into storage tanks across Kent to continue balancing the network.
“Our leak repair teams are working around the clock to fix the leaks and bursts across Kent and Sussex, with extra resources available to help carry out repairs."
Another 300 properties in Bidborough near Tunbridge Wells are experiencing intermittent supplies and low pressure.
A walk-in bottled water collection point is available at: Bidborough Village Hall, Bidborough Ride, Bidborough, TN3 0XD.