South East Water says it let down residents in Northiam after the village was left without water for much of the weekend. Unlike nearby Sandhurst, which was also affected by the same burst water main on Rye Road, villagers were not offered alternative supplies.
Local residents also hit out at the poor communication from South East Water after the water supply failed early on Friday evening 17 July. Water began to be restored late on Saturday night.
“The village should have been given bottled water,” said resident Suzanne Boreham. “Apparently if the supply can be fixed in a reasonable time South East Water don’t have to supply water either in bottles or tankers. We were told water would be restored as they were using tankers to fill the system, but it didn’t come back on.”
“Why did Sandhurst get help and not us?” she said. “Water was being delivered from Friday night, but not in Northiam. I think just one villager on the priority list eventually got some bottles. Nobody else did.”
In an update to residents, South East Water said, “We are incredibly sorry to the customers in Northiam who have been without water today. We were using tankers to inject into the system to restore customer supplies, and this is why bottled water stations and deliveries were not arranged. Unfortunately, the pressure from the tanker injections wasn’t strong enough to reach all customers affected.”
“We know we have let you down and we are truly sorry for this,” said the spokesperson.
Bexhill and Battle MP Dr Kieran Mullan said, “I have requested a meeting with South East Water, which will take place on Monday. I will be seeking a full explanation of what went wrong, why so many residents – including those on the Priority Services Register – were left without support, and what changes will be made to ensure this cannot happen again.”
On Monday 20 July, South East Water widened a hosepipe ban to include East Sussex.
Image Credits: South East Water .