Images show muddy water reaching the doors of homes and quickly flowing down the street after a major water main that supplies a large number of Dartford homes bursts.
The badly damaged main will most likely take up to two weeks to repair. Thousands of homes were left without water, and Thames water was distributed.
Thames Water said engineers cut off the water flow around 9.30 p.m. on Sunday.
According to the website update, they said: “Thank you for informing us about low water pressure and no water in DA1, DA2, and DA9.”
Our specialist engineers have now arrived in the area and are working hard to restore your water supply as soon as possible.
We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused you.
We’ll notify you as soon as we have an update.
As water and mud gushed from the two holes, residents rushed from their homes to move vehicles off the road.
The scenes contrasted sharply with millions of people in the rest of London and the South East facing hosepipe bans as months of dry weather push the country into drought, as a hose pipe ban is about to go into effect in Kent.
In the midst of a heatwave that will keep temperatures in the capital high this weekend and reach 29 degrees Celsius next week, official figures show that last month was the UK’s driest July on record since 1935.
South East Water, which serves 2.2 million customers, became the second water company to prohibit the use of hosepipes and sprinklers, announcing a ban in Kent and Sussex beginning Friday, August 12, and lasting until further notice.
Hosepipes will be prohibited from being used to water gardens or clean cars, and ornamental ponds and swimming pools will be prohibited from being filled.
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