'Send in the Army', Starmer urged after 25,000 homes in South East left without water
Residents across Kent and Sussex have called on the Prime Minister to take action after areas across the South East were left dry for a second time in two months
Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to send the Army into Tunbridge Wells to fix a crisis after 25,000 homes and businesses were left without water.
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Residents across Kent and Sussex have called on the Prime Minister to take action after the area was left dry for a second time in two months.
A major incident was declared as homes across Tunbridge Wells, East Grinstead, Maidstone, Whitstable, Canterbury and the surrounding areas all battled with supply issues running into Tuesday.
Community group Dry Wells Action has since been set up in response to the shortages and has demanded the Army be sent in to help with the crisis response.
Jonathan Hawker, a Tunbridge Wells resident leading the campaign, said: “This is a logistics problem. South East Water has demonstrated that they can’t move water from one place to another – they have an ever-changing catalogue of excuses.”
“The army are logistics specialists who are used to dealing with challenging situations. We need experts who can manage logistics in crisis situations. We need unprecedented help,” he told the Telegraph.
Storm Goretti and the cold snap were blamed for leaving the taps running dry - as well as a power cut at a South East Water pumping plant.
Read more: Major incident declared as thousands without water in Kent and Sussex
Read more: Water company chief blames supply crisis on people spending more time at home following Covid
Residents were given bottled water and a number of schools in Kent and Sussex closed due to the lack of water.South East Water, the utility company in charge of supply, has been slammed over its response to the crisis. Critics say stations set up to provide the water have reportedly been chaotic.
Tunbridge Wells MP Mike Martin MP told LBC News: ”We have got deja vu and it's not just the crisis, it's also the response. The communications again from South East Water have been awful.
He told residents to "ignore" communications from SEW as they are "garbage".
"I have absolutely zero faith in the company," he added.
Mr Martin said he's urging the company to put water rationing in place, and asking people to use as little water as possible to get "the system recharged".
Queen Victoria Hospital has provided a water tanker to keep the taps running until the situation is fixed.
Multiple schools in Maidstone were still closed on Tuesday as the shortage dragged on. Joanne Lee, 53 a resident from Ulcombe in Kent, said that the issues are so common she has been forced to change her routine and never leaves home without filling up a water bottle.
“Sometimes it can be for a couple of hours, sometimes it’s for days. I've never lived anywhere like it,” she said.
"I've got into the routine of filling up my bath, so I can use that to flush the toilet. It has become an everyday routine because the water supply is so intermittent, and that shouldn’t [be] normal for the UK.
"I never leave my house without a full kettle, my fridge water filled up, I always leave my house with everything full just in case when I come home I’ve got no water,” she told the Independent.
A Government spokesman said they will be calling on regulator Ofwat to investigate South East Water.
Ofwat, has voiced “concern” about the outages, and says it will “review all the evidence” before deciding whether SEW has met its legal obligations to customer care.
An Ofwat spokesperson said on Monday: “We are concerned that residents in Kent and Sussex are without water again, and are working closely with the Drinking Water Inspectorate, which is the lead regulator for this latest supply interruption, to ensure that regulation and enforcement is aligned.
“Ofwat already has an active investigation into South East Water related to its supply resilience, and we have met with the company to discuss these latest incidents as part of that investigation.
“We will review all of the evidence before taking a decision on what further action may be required into whether the company has met its legal obligations set out in its licence relating to customer care, including with further potential enforcement action.”
LBC has approached South East Water for comment.