Kent’s water failures return with the heat
Plus border queues, a restored synagogue, Dreamland scrutiny and the week’s other Kent stories
Hundreds of homes across Kent were left without water or low pressure over the bank holiday heatwave, with South East Water blaming high demand, a pumping station failure and wider network pressures. Plus ARK Cliftonville’s restoration of Margate’s former synagogue, fresh calls to move EU border checks inland, KCC changes, Miller Heights residents facing a long wait to return home, and the rest of the week across Kent.
Kent’s water failures return with the heat
Hundreds of homes across Kent were left without water or experiencing low pressure during the bank holiday heatwave, with South East Water blaming high demand, technical failures, and pressure problems across parts of its network.
The worst disruption was in Charing, Challock and Molash, where problems began around 8.30am on Saturday. South East Water initially said supplies had returned the following morning, but the fix did not hold. By Sunday, around 800 homes had been affected. By Monday, about 250 properties were still dealing with low pressure or no water.
A bottled water station was opened at Challock Village Hall, with residents in the three villages entering a third day of disruption during the hottest May bank holiday weekend on record.
South East Water said exceptionally high temperatures had created very high demand for tap water supplies. It said it had planned for the hot weather by increasing output at its water treatment works and putting extra water into the network.
But the company also acknowledged a technical failure at a pumping station near Charing, which meant it struggled to push water to properties on higher ground.
Katie Lam, MP for Weald of Kent, told constituents that some residents may have seen supplies restored only to lose them again. She said South East Water had linked the issue to the Charing pumping station and problems supplying homes on higher ground.
The disruption was not limited to the three villages. South East Water also reported issues in Ashford, Sevenoaks, Hastingleigh, Coxheath, and other parts of its supply region.
In Kemsing, Sevenoaks MP Laura Trott said parts of the village and the surrounding area had no or low supply, calling the situation “completely unacceptable” given the heat. She later said South East Water had told her the issue had been caused by very high demand over the weekend, with tankers working around the clock to put more water into the network.
In Canterbury, Rosie Duffield said many constituents had been without running water since the weekend. She linked the disruption to “the horrendous situation” the area faced last summer and said the latest failure was “completely unacceptable.” South East Water told her water levels in drinking water storage tanks had improved overnight, allowing boosters to restart and restore supply to more homes.
South East Water said its fleet of tankers had been working 24 hours a day to put additional water into the network in areas where demand had been extremely high and to support stored water reservoirs.
It said customers on higher ground or at the far end of the network were more likely to suffer low pressure or interruptions, particularly at peak times.
The company also said leaks and bursts were “normal” for a network more than 9,000km long and under high pressure at all times, adding that teams had been working to fix them.
By Tuesday, South East Water said supplies had returned in several areas, including Ashford, Sevenoaks, Hastingleigh and Coxheath, though it warned customers that increased demand could still cause intermittent supplies in some places.
Customers were asked to use water only for essentials such as drinking, washing and cooking, and to avoid hosepipes, sprinklers, jet washes and other non-essential uses while temperatures remained high.
South East Water apologised to affected customers, saying it knew interruptions and low pressure were frustrating, especially in very hot weather. It said vulnerable customers on its Priority Services Register had received bottled water deliveries in some areas where supplies were interrupted or where problems were expected.
The disruption comes only weeks after MPs accused South East Water’s senior leadership of incompetence over repeated outages affecting tens of thousands of customers.
The company is also facing a proposed £22m penalty from Ofwat over serious supply interruptions between 2020 and 2023, affecting customers across Kent and Sussex. Its chief executive, David Hinton, has announced he will step down, while its chair, Chris Train, has also resigned.
Ed Jennings
Recent supply failures have already left South East Water under heavy scrutiny. Last December, up to 16,000 homes were left without water for almost a week. In January, around 30,000 properties faced issues.
The weekend also showed that supply problems were not limited to South East Water. Southern Water dealt with disruption in parts of Thanet, linked to operational problems at its Selling and Eastling water supply works.
It said lower reservoir levels had reduced available capacity, with some customers experiencing reduced pressure or intermittent supply. The company provided tanker support, circulated water throughout the system, reopened bottled water stations, and continued deliveries to customers on its Priority Services Register.
For South East Water, however, the pressure is sharper. The company said it had planned for the heat. By the end of the weekend, parts of Kent still needed tankers, bottled water stations and emergency updates from MPs.
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The big read
This week’s big read comes from the Heritage Lottery Fund, which looks at how ARK Cliftonville is bringing Margate’s former synagogue back into use as an arts and culture space. The building, opened in 1928, once sat at the heart of Cliftonville’s Jewish holiday community before closing in 2018. Now, with support from a £249,000 heritage grant, ARK is restoring original features, holding Jewish cultural events, and using the building’s history of migration, diaspora and community life to shape what happens inside it now. It is a thoughtful piece on how old buildings can be given new uses without sanding off the history that made them worth saving in the first place.
26/05/2026
Council matters
Meetings this week:
- Folkestone & Hythe: Overview and Scrutiny Committee will meet tonight (Tuesday) to debate the practicality of 20 minutes free parking in town centres.
- Gravesham: Cabinet meets tonight (Tuesday) to discuss nuisance vehicles and the regularisation of HMOs.
- Tunbridge Wells: Planning Committee will decide on a 120 home development in Horsmonden on Wednesday.
New planning applications:
- Maidstone: 53 new homes as part of Hermitage Park development.
Keeping track of Kent properly takes time, travel and a fair amount of patience. Kent Current only exists because some readers choose to support that work. An annual subscription costs £1.15 a week and helps keep it going.
In brief
🪪 Calls have been made to move EU ferry border checks inland after Dover was gridlocked over the bank holiday weekend.
🚧 The Sheppey Crossing closed northbound over the bank holiday weekend due to a damaged bridge joint. One lane has now reopened with a weight limit and a 50mph speed limit.
🪧 Recent demonstrations by the far right in Dover have attracted only single-figure attendance.
➡️ Kent County Council Cabinet member for adult social care and public health, Cllr Diane Morton, has resigned from the role for 'personal reasons.' Cllr Georgia Foster will take over the brief, while Cllr Richard Palmer will replace Foster on communities and regulatory services.
🔶 The Liberal Democrats have already started choosing parliamentary candidates for the next General Election.
🚓 Kent Police are raiding convenience stores in an effort to tackle organised crime.
🚗 Kent County Council are consulting on new traffic cameras in Maidstone and Sittingbourne.
🚛 Bin collections in Thanet are apparently still rubbish.
🧒 A medieval hospital in Canterbury is set to reopen as a youth centre.
🏨 Residents forced to leave a tower block in Maidstone have been told it will be 16 weeks before they are allowed back.
🎭 Plans have been submitted to convert the 19th century Royal Function Rooms in Rochester into housing.
👮 Broadstairs once again saw antisocial behaviour over the weekend after becoming the young people's drinking destination of choice.
🎢 Great scoop from Isle of Thanet News on what is going on with Dreamland's Scenic Railway.
🚂 The Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway has installed solar panels across its buildings to cut energy costs.
🤖 Canterbury robots have been visiting the pub to learn about socialisation.
🍺 Thoughts and prayers with the people of Tonbridge and Folkestone, with Wetherspoons in both towns closing for weeks long renovation projects.
🖼️ The Guardian enjoyed Hulda Guzmán's Turner Contemporary exhibition.
🎬 Javier Bardem has been filming in Whitstable Harbour, which has been transformed into New York.
Property of the week
This week’s property is a Grade II listed house in the middle of Wye that does the classic trick of looking like a neat period cottage from the street, then revealing a very modern extension at the back. The original bits are still doing their job, with exposed brick, beams, sash windows and working fireplaces, but the centre of gravity is the open-plan kitchen and dining space, pulled out into the garden with a glazed rear wall so you get the view without having to go outside in February. There’s also a second reception room at the front for anyone who wants a door they can shut, three bedrooms upstairs, and a family bathroom that’s been enlarged by absorbing what used to be an en suite. And then there’s the loft, with the kind of ceiling height that makes people start saying “potential” and pricing up staircases.
Events this week
🎤 Thu 28 May - MC Hammersmith: Hippity Hoppity Get Off My Property // World’s leading freestyle rapper to emerge from the ghetto of middle-class West London. Quarterhouse, Folkestone. Tickets £17.50. Also at Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury on 29 May.
🎷 Fri 29 May - Curtis Stigers // Legendary jazz singer returns to Medway. St Margaret's Church, Rainham. Tickets from £49.
Footnotes
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