Sat, 20 Dec 2025

Sat, 20 Dec 2025 Supply 'too reliant' on one asset, says water firm boss

South East Water wants to expand output capacity after Tunbridge Wells issues, says David Hinton.
South East Water CEO David Hinton has admitted that his company relies too heavily on individual facilities, citing the recent six-day supply failure that affected 24,000 properties in Kent as an example. The incident saw thousands of people in and around Tunbridge Wells left without or with low pressure tap water from November 29 to December 4. Residents were advised to boil their restored tap water before consumption for nine days. Hinton says South East Water is planning to spend £30m on expanding the capacity at Bewl Water reservoir, near Wadhurst in East Sussex, to improve resilience and prevent similar supply issues in the future. The proposal would enable the company to rapidly respond to any problems at its treatment works, he claims. The water company's chief executive has faced calls to resign over the supply failure, but Hinton says the Bewl Water plan is a key reason why South East Water needs permission to increase customer bills by an extra 4% on top of the already approved 36% average price rise. The Competition and Markets Authority has provisionally agreed to this increase pending a final decision in 2026. The Drinking Water Inspectorate is investigating the incident, which was caused by a disinfection problem at Pembury Water Treatment Works. However, Hinton says there was no evidence that the supply became contaminated as a result of the failure.
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