Water returns for most Tunbridge Wells residents, but must be boiled

KentOnline / KMTV

As the water crisis enters its sixth day, business owners and leaders in the town have spoken of how crippling it has been in the run up to Christmas.  South East Water have said more than 23,000 of the 24,000 properties impacted were now reconnected, but for many the damage has been done.   Chloe Brewster reports.

Transcript

00:00So, day six, what are the updates, Chloe?

00:05I'm here in Tunbridge Wells Town Centre,

00:07so just outside the public urinals that have been set up.

00:11You know, it's obviously a stressful time.

00:13The water has now returned to some properties in Tunbridge Wells now,

00:16but that water is actually undrinkable.

00:18That water can be used for showering, for the boiler,

00:21but can't be used for drinking.

00:22Any water that's used for drinking or for brushing teeth,

00:26that's all having to be boiled first.

00:28It's obviously slightly irritating for the people here.

00:31We actually spoke to Dr Neil Hudson,

00:33Head of Water Quality at South East Water,

00:35who told us about lessons to be learnt for South East Water

00:37before talking about compensation for customers.

00:40I think it is a very different issue.

00:43We have done a lot.

00:44We've put an awful lot of investment into our alternate waters,

00:47to our tanker fleet, which has been helping to support the area

00:50in terms of our bottled water stations set up.

00:52Also, investment in the network as well.

00:54Obviously, this is something that takes a period of time to deliver.

00:58In our most recent business plan,

00:59the need for investment across our whole network has been recognised

01:02through the regulator offer by a significantly increased amount of money.

01:06So this is something that does take time and money to fix,

01:09but we are fixing this issue.

01:11In terms of compensation, that is definitely something we're looking at.

01:15We have guaranteed standards of service in terms of providing a health

01:17from supply to customers.

01:18That's set out on our website.

01:20So we will be upholding that, definitely.

01:22But I think the key message at this point is really making sure

01:27that everyone's aware of that need from the public health point of view

01:29to boil water before it goes into, before they drink.

01:34You know, it's clear to see the scale of the impact on businesses here.

01:37Just walking up the high street now,

01:39about half the shops and restaurants are closed.

01:41I'm actually just stood opposite.

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