Good afternoon,
Here is an update on water supply issues in Crowborough Wadhurst and Rotherfield.
We are very sorry to the 2700 customers who continue have no water or low tap water pressure.
Demand for water is still extremely high across Kent and Sussex and we are continuing to ask those who do have water to keep it to cooking, drinking and hygiene only.
Our water treatment works continue to operate at full capacity and we are moving water around our network to return tap water to as many customers as possible. We are trying to divert supplies to support the Wadhurst and Rotherfield areas without impacting other areas and we are focused on maintaining supplies to critical infrastructure sites like hospitals.
Customer water use is still outstripping what we can supply. We need every customer to use just a little bit less to make sure everyone has an adequate supply. The amount of water we can take from rivers and underground is strictly controlled by the Environment Agency to make sure we protect the environment.
Yesterday, we produced 110 million litres of water more than average. In the afternoon we fixed the burst water main on Crowborough Hill, with several of our technical teams working for almost 24 hours to do so.
This morning, we are trying to help local schools to re-open by providing alternative supplies.
Customers on our priority services register are receiving deliveries of bottled water from our Customer Care Team and bottled water is available this morning at three sites in Rotherfield, Mayfield and Wadhurst.
Farms and small holdings who do not have mains water can contact us on 0333 000 0002.
Throughout the day we will continue to ask those who do have drinking water to use it for essential use only, through customer emails, social media and local radio interviews.
We are also meeting with the Sussex Resilience Forum to ensuring we are supporting local communities where ever possible and identifying any vulnerable customers not on our lists.
Please help us amplify our message by sharing it across your networks.
Steve Andrews
Incident Manager
