to wonder WTF is going on at South East Water.

Are you still without water ?

I don't believe that Utility companies should ever have been privatised. The water companies were debt-free when privatised but have since paid billions in dividends and bonuses but now have signifant debt...

'South East Water's CEO, David Hinton, received total compensation of approximately £456,000 in the 2024/2025 financial year, according to a July 2025 report by The Guardian.4 Dec 2025'

The boss of SE Water also claimed part of the issue was an increase in people working from home. Which is insane because how many toilet flushes and cups of tea are people to make such an impact. The issue is that the infrastructure is falling apart because since privatisation the companies have pursued profit and failed to do the maintenance and upgrades needed so that pipes etc are literally crumbling. It also means the cost of renationalised utilities are completely prohibitive as so much has to be invested to just maintain services

It’s almost certainly cheaper and easier to supply hikes near existing settlements with water and electricity than building somewhere new - less ducting to deploy so it should just be things like pumping station uplift ( not a water expert )

IMO the gov need to see where the profits from the last 12 years have gone, round up the benefactors and legally enforce that they return public funds for infrastructure to enable right to life. There should be no huge profits on basic necessities - the Tories selling water companies off for profit was always going to end this way.

Years ago it was known that there were risks of water shortages in South east England due to overhousing. That plus water companies being notorious at skimping on infrastructure.

I suspect it’s an issue which won’t be solved overnight. The problem with the urgent housing shortage is that people are steaming ahead without considering the resources impacts. I believe there should be more houses, but there should be more thought given to where they should go, not just adding more and more to existing settlements.

Which is a long way of saying this crisis was years in the making, and will take years to sort. What government should be doing is demanding to see an urgent plan, and getting another one from their own experts to ensure they are happy with it.

Lots and lots of lovely profits for the owners. Fuck the consumers, it's not like they can go elsewhere. And fuck ofwat too, they are toothless.

Yay profits

I would stop paying if you’re going without water for days.
How has this got to this stage!

Horrendous situation for everyone in the area. You mention priority customers but isn't water a necessity for everyone???

Not being able to flush the loo has to be the grimmest thing.

Where are they suggesting people shower?!

What if you havent got relatives you can visit.

I remember once when we had no water due to boiler packing up we used the shower at the local leisure centre. Has anyone thought of that although they might not have any water themselves?

The other water companies will be watching, and if SE Water get away with this...

And Mims Davies, East Grinstead MP, delivered a blistering attack on Emma Hardy yesterday

My SIL and BIL are in the affected area and I took them a fan heater and a convector heater yesterday so they can at least get warm. They're taking their laundry to MIL's and showering there, but it's a 40 mile round trip.

They've put a load of plastic crates out in the garden to catch rain water, so they can use it to flush the bog, which I thought was pretty enterprising.

Oh really! Maybe he’ll be passing on the details then!

A friend lives there and has a newborn baby. No water at any shops and all the water stations from the water company have zero supplies left

They are thoroughly incompetent.

Has been some talk of a class action by Tunbridge Wells residents, given the issues before Xmas and the new issues right now.

Local MP has been very active, to be fair, but little other than shareholders or the government can do about it. Water regulator a waste of space.

We and others have bought a small number of shares in order to be able to raise issues when their AGM comes around.

We are in the area and would not be amazed if an expose shows we have had contaminated water before. DS left a pint of water from the tap next to his bed overnight and it was yellow/brown in the morning.

I strongly suspect successive CEO's have taken the profits where they should have been investing in infrastructure. None of them seem very bright and with Brexit they haven't had EU oversight.

For SE Water read Shit Show!! We need infrastructure and for our politicians to get their priorities right!

Water should not be in the hands of companies who need to make a profit

Me too. We're the other side of one of the affected areas, so fingers crossed! Really feel for those affected.

We're on a new-build (well, 20-year-old so teething problems should have been long resolved) estate serviced by a local pumping station that always used to trip and cut the water supply whenever there was a storm, heavy rain or hot weather or even a little breeze. So not immune to SE Water's incompetencies.. The worst was 24 hours without water on the record-breaking heatwave day in 2021. Fortunately that was fixed a couple of years ago after 10 years 😬

Helen Whately and Rosie Duffield have also said they will be meeting with SEW.
But honestly, I'm not sure what they can actually do. The government needs to step in now. The areas around Canterbury that have been without water haven't even been supplied with a water station so far. Vulnerable customers have had no contact from them. And where there are water stations, it's over an hours round trip for some of those affected. This coupled with the constant pumping of sewage into our waterways and coastline is an absolute travesty. The number of houses being built (and constantly more being approved) in this area is insanity when SEW can't cope with the current number. They've owned the land for a new reservoir here for FIFTY years and done nothing about building it. When it is finally built, the demand from new houses being built will already have outstripped its additional capacity. Years and years of not investing in the infrastructure is what has caused this. SEW actually had the bare faced cheek to blame Storm Goretti for the issues this week. We were the least affected part of the country! They claim the storm hampered their ability to treat and pump drinking water - but what was the excuse when it happened a few weeks ago?

That's the CEO of Southern Water who have also had issues but nowhere near those of South East Water customers.