South East Water issues a boil water notice for 24,000 customers in Tunbridge Wells as water supply is restored for flushing toilets and washing only

South East Water’s Head of Water Quality, Dr Neil Hudson, said: “We regularly test our network to make sure the water we provide is safe for you to drink.

“After recharging our network in Tunbridge Wells and the surrounding areas slowly, we have seen a recurrence of the water quality issues that caused the initial shutdown of our water treatment works in Pembury.

“Because of this, we are currently unable to produce drinking water from the Pembury treatment works that meets the strict regulatory standards required for consumption.

“We understand many customers have been without water for a number of days, causing issues with basic public health functions such as flushing the toilet or showering.

“We have therefore taken the decision to pump water from our treatment works into the network, which can be used for flushing toilets or showering, but crucially cannot be used for drinking without boiling first.

“From 12:00, midday on 3 December, until further notice, we are asking all customers in the Tunbridge Wells area who have experienced low pressure or no water since 29 November to boil water before being consumed.

“A map and list of postcodes is available on our website and all customers in the affected areas will receive a letter in the post imminently.

“I would like to reiterate that the water is safe to use for washing and flushing toilets, but we are introducing a boil water notice for customers in the area before using water for drinking and cooking. The water is chemically safe, but a potential fault in the final disinfection process means customers must boil it before drinking

“We’re very sorry to all customers who have been experiencing issues with their water supply.

“We know how tough it is to be without water and we are doing all we can to restore supplies to customers as soon as possible.

“We have three bottled water stations that will remain open until 10pm tonight (Wednesday). The locations of these are:

• Tunbridge Wells Sports Centre, St John's Rd, Royal Tunbridge Wells TN4 9TX
• RCP Parking, Tunbridge Wells, TN2 5TP
• Odeon Cinema Knights Way, Tunbridge Wells TN2 3UW

“Our customer care team and Water Direct are continuing to deliver bottled water to eligible customers signed up to our Priority Services Register.”

To sign up for our Priority Services Register customers can visit southeastwater.co.uk/psr

Customers can sign up via our website to receive regular updates and find the latest on our interactive map at https://aqualerter.southeastwater.co.uk/ (opens in a new tab)

Further information and FAQs on the boiled water noticing can be found on our website: southeastwater.co.uk/boil-notice