South East Water’s greatest failure was not contacting customers during winter outages, report finds
A watchdog said South East Water’s biggest failure last winter was poor communication during outages that left tens of thousands without water.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
The Consumer Council for Water said South East Water’s biggest failing last winter was poor communication, after outages in Kent and Sussex left tens of thousands without water or pressure. Fewer than one in 10 surveyed customers were satisfied with how the company handled the crisis.
South East Water had a big water problem, but the watchdog says the company made it worse by not telling people clearly what was happening. It was like a school bus being late and nobody saying when it would arrive, while thousands of families needed water for everything.
Analysis
What happened
The Consumer Council for Water said South East Water handled last winter’s supply crisis badly, and that communication was the company’s biggest failure. The disruption started in November and December, when about 24,000 customers in the Tunbridge Wells area lost water supply or pressure after a water-quality problem at the Pembury treatment works. A precautionary boil-water notice ran from 3 December 2025 to 12 December 2025.
Weeks later, in January 2026, about 69,000 properties were hit with water shortages and low pressure. In the survey behind the report, fewer than one in 10 customers said they were satisfied with how the company handled the crisis. Customers described confusing messages and shifting time estimates, which made it hard to plan or understand when service would return.
Why the report is so critical
The report says the problem was not only the outage itself, but the way the company communicated during it. CCW chief executive Mike Keil said people accept that water services can fail, but expect companies to reduce the disruption rather than make it worse. The report also says some customers lost confidence in the safety and reliability of their drinking water.
Vulnerable customers were a particular concern. About half of the customers in vulnerable circumstances who were registered for priority services said they did not get the support they expected.
The criticism comes as South East Water again faced outages in Kent and Sussex during last week’s hot weather, affecting hundreds of households. The company also faces a £22m Ofwat fine over serious supply disruption over many years, and MPs have accused its leaders of incompetence. The overall picture is of a utility under sustained pressure to restore trust, improve incident handling, and deliver a more reliable service.
Key points
- The Consumer Council for Water said South East Water’s biggest failure last winter was poor communication.
- Fewer than one in 10 surveyed customers were satisfied with the company’s handling of the crisis.
- About 24,000 customers lost water supply or pressure in the Tunbridge Wells area after a water-quality failure, followed by a later outage affecting about 69,000 properties.
- Around half of vulnerable customers registered for priority services said they did not get the support they expected.
- South East Water is also facing renewed criticism after fresh outages in Kent and Sussex during hot weather.
If South East Water improves how it warns customers and supports people during outages, future disruptions could be less confusing and less damaging. Better handling of incidents could help rebuild trust, especially for customers who rely on priority services.
If the company keeps failing to communicate clearly, outages will keep causing more harm than the water loss alone. Continued problems could deepen public distrust, leave vulnerable customers short of support, and add to regulatory and political pressure.
