As your drinking water supplier, balancing your daily water needs with the precious natural environment is a delicate act.
Explore our proposed Drought Plan for 2027–2032 and have your say on how we plan to take action to protect supplies and the environment during dry weather and drought events.
You now have until 6 August 2026 to have your say on our draft Drought Plan 2027-2032.
Find out how to submit your views, below.
Water scarcity in the South East
We're proud to deliver 543 million litres of fresh drinking water every single day through 9,000 miles of underground pipes. But the South East is officially classified as "seriously water stressed."
Climate change is making the occurrence of extreme weather events, like severe droughts and intense heatwaves, the new normal. The record-breaking drought of 2025 proved just how quickly our resources can be pushed to the limit, with peak summer demand increasing by up to 30 per cent overnight.
At the same time, we operate in a uniquely rich natural landscape, home to:
- 196 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)
- 17 Special Areas of Conservation
- 11 National Nature Reserves
- England’s most densely wooded region of rare ancient woodland
Our job is to keep your taps flowing while allowing this precious environment to thrive.
Building resilience for the next five years
The drought of 2025/26 showed how quickly climate change and the way we use water can strain the water network. During heatwaves, we now routinely see demand for drinking water increase by 20 to 30 per cent, the equivalent of adding a town the size of Maidstone or Eastbourne overnight on to our supply network.
Our core challenge is maintaining a reliable supply to customers while protecting a highly sensitive local ecosystem that includes 196 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and other precious water dependent habitats including chalk streams.
What we're doing
Over the next five years, we are investing £2.1 billion to maintain supplies and build infrastructure resilience, including fixing leaks faster with smart technology, rolling out smart meters, and developing a new reservoir at Broad Oak near Canterbury.
However, we must also be prepared for extended periods of dry weather placing pressure on our resources and increasing the demand for water. Our new draft Drought Plan outlines a flexible "toolbox" of short-term actions to manage severe shortages, incorporating lessons learned from the 2025 drought. Key updates include:
- Refined trigger framework: Updated water demand triggers that better reflect modern peak summer usage.
- Proactive, localised communication: Initiating targeted, area-specific water-saving campaigns much earlier in the year.
- Enhanced collaboration: Closer coordination with catchment partnerships, wildlife trusts, and local authorities to protect river health.
- Targeted support: Clearer restriction exemptions for vulnerable customers on our Priority Services Register (PSR) and increased rainwater-harvesting support for farmers and landowners.
- Extreme drought options: the addition of new options that would be implemented in a very severe drought situation to avoid the need for emergency measures
Have your say
say(opens in a new tab)This Drought Plan belongs to the community. Whether you are a business owner, a resident, or passionate about our local environment, your feedback ensures our plan is fair, practical, and effective.
The consultation window is now open until 6 August 2026. Read the simplified summary(opens in a new tab) or dive into the full technical documents(opens in a new tab) then submit your thoughts.
Email your representations to Defra (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) and South East Water by clicking the button below.
You must add "South East Water" to the subject field.
Alternatively, you can post your representation to:
Drought Plan Consultation
DEFRA
Drought
Seacole, 2 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF
Questions to consider when providing your feedback
Question 1
During the hot, dry spring/summer of 2025, we had to introduce temporary use bans (formerly hosepipe restrictions) and apply for special permits to protect water supplies in Kent and Sussex. Looking back at that experience:
- Was it clear to you why we had to apply water restrictions?
- What were your biggest worries during that dry period, and how can we help ease them next time?
- How could we have improved our management of the 2025 drought event?
Question 2
We have updated our drought monitoring plan, including the triggers we’ll use to measure rainfall, surface water supplies, groundwater and demand. Do you agree with these new drought triggers, do you have any suggestions of other indicators of drought we should use?
Question 3
To manage drought, we have prioritised demand reduction options, such as temporary use bans, and the least environmentally damaging options to help maintain supplies. Do you agree with this approach, or should we consider anything else?
Question 4
We have provided details of how we might implement Temporary Use Bans and Non-Essential Use Bans in a phased approach during a drought event. Do you have any thoughts on our approach – is it acceptable?
Question 5
Our Drought Plan includes a detailed communication plan – does this cover the right information and channels for us to share with customers and stakeholders before, during and after a drought? Are there other ways we can collaborate with you or others to deliver drought/dry weather messaging to all water users in our region?
Question 6
In our plan, we have provided more detail on the options and approach we will use in extreme droughts before implementing emergency restrictions. We plan to use simple, low-impact steps first—like dropping network water pressure overnight or tankering water—before considering harsher supply options like temporary desalination plants. Do you agree with the order in which we plan to use these extreme drought options?
Question 7
Are there any other drought management options or solutions you feel are missing from our plan?