Displaying items by tag: Sussex

South East Water is under investigation by regulator Ofwat after repeated outages since November left tens of thousands of households and businesses across Kent and Sussex without drinking water. Some properties have endured up to six days without supply, with around 8,500 addresses still affected. The watchdog is examining whether the company breached licence conditions by failing to meet customer service standards or provide adequate support. This follows earlier prolonged outages in Tunbridge Wells, where 24,000 properties lacked drinkable water for nearly two weeks. Ofwat is also reviewing the firm’s supply resilience, while the government has asked for a wider licence review. A major incident has been declared, schools have closed, and ministers are holding daily emergency meetings. South East Water has blamed storm-related power cuts and burst pipes, but frustration remains high as recovery plans continue amid slow refilling of storage tanks.

Beaches in Bexhill and Normans Bay in East Sussex have been closed after untreated wastewater was released into the sea at the shoreline. Hastings borough council also advised people against swimming at Pelham Beach due to pollution. Southern Water said they were ‘deeply sorry’ and understood ‘the distress this causes’. The liquid, including sewage, was released when the primary power and back-up system failed on 17 August. A member of Bexhill SeaGals sea-swimming group believes water companies should be ‘held accountable’, adding, ‘It is unbelievable and outrageous that they can continue to get away with this’. The head of Surfers Against Sewage said, ‘Years of underinvestment are now in plain sight. It is time that huge water company profits were diverted to properly managing water and sewage and protecting people and planet. Our rivers and beaches should not be subject to this type of industrial environmental vandalism.’