Chaos Hits Tunbridge Wells as Water Crisis Drags Into Day Four
Thousands Still Dry as Toxic Water Scare Shuts Schools
Nearly 14,000 Tunbridge Wells residents remain parched after a “toxic chemical batch” forced a local water plant to shut last Saturday. The outage, now in its fourth day, left taps dry for tens of thousands, with full water restoration not expected until tonight — if then.
At its peak, 24,000 people lost water. South East Water has restored supplies to around 10,000 homes overnight, but many locals still face dry taps. Schools including Tunbridge Wells Girls’ Grammar, Tunbridge Wells Grammar for Boys, and Oakley School remain closed amid the ongoing emergency.
Promises water would flow by 8am today were broken, sparking long queues for bottled water across the town.
MP Slams Water Company: ‘Disaster’ – Demands CEO Resignation
Tunbridge Wells MP Mike Martin didn’t hold back. He branded South East Water’s handling of the crisis “a disaster” and demanded CEO David Hinton quit immediately.
“Utterly pathetic performance from someone so highly paid,” Martin raged after a fiery phone call with Hinton, who reportedly responded by “ranting” and “whining.”
Martin slammed the firm’s botched crisis management and poor communication. He revealed locals were left waiting over an hour just to get bottled water, which was also unfairly distributed — Tonbridge received better supplies.
“The whole thing has been a disaster. At leadership level, South East Water has totally failed,” Martin added.
Locals’ Fury: ‘It’s Like a Nightmare’
- Dad-of-two Ravi Kathiresan said water rationing falls far short of his family’s daily needs.
- Sue Bickmore called the situation a “total nightmare,” struggling with no water to flush toilets or clean.
- Lyn Gardner described the wait as “degrading” and spoke of “a feeling of despair.”
Local pub landlord Teresa Barrett revealed she’s lost £600 in trade and had to scrap planned Christmas events. She slammed South East Water’s response as “appalling.”
South East Water Responds: Bottled Water Stations Open
South East Water apologised and insisted the water is safe. They say they’re carefully refilling the network to avoid pipe bursts and removing air pockets that can cause cloudy water.
Bottled water stations have been set up at key locations around Tunbridge Wells:
- Tunbridge Wells Sports Centre, St John’s Rd
- Odeon Cinema, Knights Way
- RCP Parking, Tunbridge Wells
Incident Manager Marc Sims revealed they’ve delivered over 6.5 million litres of water by tanker and 400,000 litres bottled so far. He urged vulnerable residents to register for priority assistance.
With repairs ongoing, locals face a long, dry wait before life returns to normal.
