A major incident was declared in the South East after 30,000 homes ran out of water

Around 30,000 homes across Sussex and Kent are experiencing water shortages, resulting in Kent County Council declaring a “major incident” – as MPs say the man in charge of South East Water should be sacked.

Ten postcodes, including Tunbridge Wells, Canterbury and Maidstone, are still experiencing problems after a weekend of disruption, according to an alert issued by the water company.

South East Water said a number of issues were to blame for the water pressure issues, including storm surge Goretti, burst water mains and power outages at its pumping plant.

The water company said the storm had affected its ability to treat water at normal rates, and that cold conditions in Kent and Sussex had reduced drinking water levels, along with spillage outbreaks.

But ministers from affected areas have called on the government to remove the company’s chief executive, David Hinton, from his post.

Mims Davies, Conservative MP for East Grinstead, Uckfield and Villages, who brought the issue to the House, said the water bottle stations were “poorly managed”.

He added: “With the repeated and repeated serious failures of South East Water over the last five years, does the Minister agree with me that this water company urgently needs new leadership capable of properly addressing emergencies?”

Water Minister Emma Hardy offered no support for SEW’s chief executive, calling the company’s situation “beggars belief”. “She’s been very accurate in raising issues around this company,” she said.

Some customers have been told their supplies may not be restored until Tuesday, and bottled water stations will close at 10pm tonight. They are located at Tunbridge Wells Rugby Football Club (TN2 5LS), Headcorn Aerodrome (TN27 9HX), East Grinstead Sports Club (RH19 4JU) and Queensway Car Park (RH19 1BG).

In a post on X/Twitter, Kent County Council leader Lynden Kemkaran said: “A major incident has been declared in Kent with many households and settings affected in the last 24 hours and we are putting additional arrangements in place to prepare for further potential disruption.”

Water supply problems have affected many schools in Kent and Sussex, with public libraries in East Grinstead also closed for the day.

The Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead has also been forced to carry out some appointments virtually. Water tankers are delivering additional supplies, and steps are being taken to ensure the hospital continues to provide essential services.

A spokesman said: “The safety and wellbeing of our patients and staff is our priority. Since Saturday we have had a water tanker onsite to maintain our supply and our teams are working tirelessly behind the scenes to minimize any disruption to care.

“We have been able to continue our essential services and continue to review the situation despite the water issue. We want to reassure patients that appointments and surgeries are still taking place and we will contact you if any changes need to be made.”

Southeast Water said in a Facebook post, “Our water storage tanks in counties are running low due to leaks and burst water mains during the recent cold weather.

“As a result, around 30,000 properties in parts of Kent and Sussex may be experiencing water, interrupted supply or low pressure.

“This includes 16,500 properties in East Grinstead, with the rest spread across parts of Kent, Tunbridge Wells, Headcorn and across our Maidstone system.

“We apologize for the impact this has caused and understand the disruption to your daily lives. We are doing our best to balance our network and restore supply to as many customers as possible.”

It comes after 24,000 customers in Tunbridge Wells, Pembury, Front and Ariz experienced water shortages or low pressure following “water quality issues” in December.