Government ministers are chairing daily emergency meetings as the water supply crisis in the South East deepens, with 17,000 properties across Kent and Sussex now enduring a fifth consecutive day without running water.
Political Pressure Mounts on Water Company
The situation, described by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer as "totally unacceptable", has sparked fierce political backlash. During Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday 14 January 2026, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey demanded that South East Water (SEW) be stripped of its licence for failing customers "over and over again".
Sir Keir confirmed the government had doubled compensation rates for affected individuals and businesses and was pressuring the company to invest urgently in its infrastructure. He also promised a forthcoming water White Paper.
Company Blames Storm, MPs Remain Sceptical
SEW has attributed the latest failure, which follows a similar incident in December affecting 24,000 properties, to Storm Goretti causing burst pipes and power cuts. While supplies have been restored to 8,000 customers, the majority of those still affected—approximately 11,500 properties—are in East Grinstead, East Sussex.
However, MPs have expressed deep scepticism about the company's explanations. Alistair Carmichael, chair of the Parliamentary Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, indicated plans to recall SEW chief executive David Hinton and chairman Chris Train for further questioning. Liberal Democrat MP for Tunbridge Wells, Mike Martin, has been calling for Mr Hinton's resignation for over a month.
Widespread Disruption for Communities
The ongoing outage is causing significant disruption. Kent County Council stated that while most schools were open on Wednesday, some faced early closure if they ran out of water. Several schools in Sussex remained shut entirely.
Bottled water stations are operational in Tunbridge Wells, East Grinstead, and Maidstone. SEW's incident manager, Matthew Dean, apologised, acknowledging the extreme difficulty for customers. The company has pledged to continue restoring supplies throughout the day.
Local leaders have voiced strong criticism, with Kent County Council leader Linden Kemkaran stating that "heads must roll" over the repeated failures.
