00:00For the third day in a row, parts of Whitstable still do not have access to clean running water.
00:05So some residents have taken matters into their own hands, or in fact, they've taken matters
00:10into the sea, not out of protest, but out of necessity, because they say without their running
00:16water, they can't shower, they can't wash their hands, and they cannot flush the toilet.
00:20So they're taken to Whitstable Beach to shower and bathe.
00:23The water issues have grown significantly since Bank Holiday Monday, where other areas across
00:29Kent were hit with supply issues.
00:31Supplies started to return to Whitstable last night, but now 3,500 households in the area
00:38are still without running water, and single mother Caroline has had enough.
00:42Water is not a luxury, it's an essential item, and it's actually a health and safety risk
00:47at the moment in this heat.
00:49It's incredible in modern-day Britain that we're having to live like this.
00:52You know, change needs to come, and we need the government to listen now and do something.
00:56I just want to be able to turn my tap on for water to come out, I want to pay
01:00a fair price
01:01for that water, and I want to be able to go in the sea and not worry about my child
01:05getting
01:05ill from sewage.
01:06So we don't want more of this, we want accountability and we want action now.
01:09In a smaller-than-expected turnout, other residents vented very similar frustrations.
01:15If this is happening now, in the first hot week of the summer, what does that mean for
01:19the rest of the summer?
01:20What does that mean for summer to come?
01:21Is this going to be the new norm?
01:23Just in shocks, really.
01:25Even the flush in the toilet was a celebration this morning, which shouldn't be, really.
01:30So it's hard, knowing that we might not be able to be in school over, obviously, not
01:36having water.
01:36People don't realise the impacts of just not having water can impact so many businesses,
01:42obviously school education, qualifications, everything.
01:45This is just so frustrating and so debilitating, and it makes you feel, like, worthless, like
01:52our lives don't really matter because we can't function.
01:57And with hundreds of new homes planned for Whitstable, a local councillor believes the
02:01target must be reconsidered.
02:03It's not realistic to build houses somewhere where there isn't water to accommodate them.
02:08What is the point of building a house where people won't be able to turn on the taps and
02:11get fresh water?
02:12In a statement, South East Water said, remaining customers will see water supplies start to
02:17return later today, and tap water is likely to remain intermittent across the weekend.
02:22We support in the local hospital and those with livestock, but we ask customers to use
02:28water for essential purposes only.
02:30So with the heatwave continuing over the weekend, will more people take their rubber ducks to
02:35Whitstable Beach?
02:36Naila Mahamud for KMTV in Whitstable.
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