South East Water’s greatest failure was not contacting customers during winter outages, report finds

Fewer than one in 10 SEW customers satisfied with firm’s handling of supply crisis, which left tens of thousands without water

South East Water failed to adequately communicate with customers during outages last winter that left tens of thousands of people without water, a report has concluded.

Fewer than one in 10 SEW customers were satisfied with how the company handled the water supply crisis that stretched across parts of Kent and Sussex last winter, the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) said. The independent body’s report found communication was the company’s greatest failing.

Mike Keil, the chief executive of CCW, said: “ Our research lays bare the scale of disruption inflicted on the lives of tens of thousands of South East Water customers last winter.

“People understand that things can sometimes go wrong with their water and sewerage services, but they expect their water company to minimise the impact – not make it worse. With the right handling, companies can build trust during challenging incidents, but when the response falls short, it can make a bad situation even more difficult.”

He added that perhaps the most damaging legacy was the loss of confidence among some South East Water customers in the safety and reliability of their drinking water.

The winter disruption to water supplies hit in November and December when about 24,000 customers lost water supply or pressure in the Tunbridge Wells area after a water quality failure at the Pembury water treatment works. A formal precautionary boil-water notice was issued from 3 December 2025 and lifted on 12 December 2025.

Then weeks later in January this year about 69,000 properties were hit with water shortages and low pressure.