Tunbridge Wells Water Crisis: 14,000 Homes Still Affected After Chemical Error at Pembury Plant

Thousands of people in and around Tunbridge Wells are entering a fifth day of severe water disruption after a “bad batch” of treatment chemicals forced the shutdown of South East Water’s Pembury Water Treatment Works – and repeated attempts to restart the system have failed to fully restore supplies. ^[1]

At a glance: what’s happening in Tunbridge Wells

Where: Tunbridge Wells, Pembury and surrounding areas in Kent
Since when: Evening of Saturday 29 November 2025
Cause: A faulty batch of coagulant chemicals created a “water quality issue” at Pembury Water Treatment Works, forcing it offline. ^[2]
Who is affected: Up to 24,000 properties were initially impacted; about 14,000 homes still had no running water or extremely low pressure as the outage entered a fifth day. ^[3]
Key knock‑on effects: Schools, GP surgeries, sports centres, community venues and hospitality businesses have closed; queues for bottled water have stretched for hours. ^[4]
Political fallout: Local MP Mike Martin and Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey have both called the situation a “disgrace” and urged the resignation of South East Water CEO David Hinton, with Davey asking ministers to “send in the army” if necessary. ^[5]
Investigations: The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) has launched a probe; the UK government has branded the disruption “unacceptable” and demanded urgent action from the company. ^[6]

How the Tunbridge Wells water outage unfolded

A “bad batch” at Pembury shuts down the plant

The crisis began on the evening of Saturday 29 November, when a batch of coagulant – chemicals used to clump together impurities so they can be removed in treatment – caused a water quality problem at Pembury Water Treatment Works. That forced South East Water to shut the plant and flush contaminated water from part of the system. ^[7]

Initially, the company believed only around 6,000 customers were affected. But further pressure and flow testing revealed the true scale: tens of thousands of properties had either no water or severely reduced pressure as storage reservoirs across the network ran low. ^[8]

By Sunday, the number had risen to around 24,000 customers in and around Tunbridge Wells. South East Water said it had sourced a new batch of chemicals, cleaned the treatment works and begun slowly refilling its storage tanks. ^[9]

Missed deadlines and a recurring water quality issue

Residents were repeatedly told to expect supplies back by various deadlines – Sunday morning, Sunday evening, then Monday, then Tuesday – only to see those targets slip. Many described a sense of “false hope” as promised restoration times came and went. ^[10]

On Tuesday, as engineers slowly recharged the network, the same water quality problem reappeared, forcing South East Water to halt its full restoration plan. The company said this recurrence meant it was “unlikely” to get water back to everyone that day, and even those whose supplies had briefly returned might see intermittent service again. ^[11]

By the morning of Wednesday 3 December, ITV News reported that around 14,000 homes were still without water, even as the outage entered its fifth day. ^[12]

How many homes and businesses are still affected?

The numbers have changed as engineers move water around the network and tankers top up key areas:

Saturday night / Sunday: Around 24,000 customers without water or with very low pressure. ^[13]
Monday: Some properties saw supplies return, but radio and national outlets still reported more than 22,000 homes affected. ^[14]
Tuesday: South East Water and local media said about 14,000 homes were still without water, even as others had supplies restored. ^[15]
Wednesday morning: Thousands remain cut off; officials and broadcasters continue to refer to an outage affecting around 14,000 properties as the crisis drags on. ^[16]

While some residents report water sporadically returning, many say pressure is too weak to shower or run appliances, and they remain dependent on bottled supplies for basic needs.

Daily life on hold: schools, surgeries and small businesses hit

The human impact in Tunbridge Wells and surrounding villages has been stark.

School closures and cancelled appointments

Kent County Council’s updates and local reporting show that more than ten schools were unable to open at the start of the week, with several – including major secondary schools and special schools – closing again as the outage continued. ^[17]

Headteachers have warned of disruption to teaching in the crucial pre‑Christmas term, while parents juggle childcare and work. Some schools have resorted to online learning or partial year‑group closures.

GP surgeries and community health facilities have also reported severe disruption, with at least some forced to shut or drastically reduce services due to hygiene rules and lack of running water. ^[18]

Pubs, restaurants and venues forced to close

Hospitality businesses across Tunbridge Wells have shared statements explaining that, without running water, they simply cannot operate safely. Pubs and restaurants have had to cancel bookings at one of the busiest times of the year, with some owners claiming losses of thousands of pounds in just a few days. ^[19]

Sports and community centres – including Tunbridge Wells Sports Centre and The Camden Centre – have also shut at times, compounding the sense of a town partially closed by a failure of basic infrastructure. ^[20]

Long queues and fraying tempers

With taps dry, residents have had to queue for bottled water at distribution sites around the town. Reports describe hour‑long waits in car parks and traffic backing up as people try to reach the stations. ^[21]

Some vulnerable and elderly residents have struggled to get to the water stations at all, relying instead on neighbours or volunteer deliveries. Local media and social posts have described scenes of frayed tempers and occasional scuffles in supermarkets as shoppers compete for limited bottled supplies. ^[22]

To help residents cope, mobile toilets have been brought into parts of the town, and families have described collecting rainwater to flush toilets while reserving bottled water for drinking and cooking. ^[23]

Where can residents get bottled water?

South East Water has opened three main bottled water stations in Tunbridge Wells:

Tunbridge Wells Sports Centre, St John’s Road, TN4 9TX
Odeon Cinema Knights Way, Tunbridge Wells, TN2 3UW
RCP Parking, Tunbridge Wells, TN2 5TP ^[24]

The company says these sites are staying open into the evening (recent updates have mentioned closing times around 10pm), and that deliveries are being made directly to customers on its Priority Services Register, including many elderly and disabled residents and care homes. ^[25]

South East Water claims to have:

Tankered more than 6 million litres of water into the town
Distributed hundreds of thousands of litres of bottled water – some reports put the figure above 400,000 litres so far ^[26]

What exactly went wrong at Pembury Water Treatment Works?

The role of coagulant chemicals

According to South East Water and local officials, the outage stems from a faulty batch of coagulant chemicals used at the Pembury treatment works. These chemicals are a standard part of drinking water treatment: they cause tiny particles to stick together, making them easier to remove in later stages. ^[27]

In this case, the batch apparently caused water to fall outside quality standards, triggering alarms and forcing the plant to stop putting treated water into the network. Engineers then had to flush affected pipes and tanks before bringing the works back online with a new batch of chemicals.

Why the problem keeps reappearing

The plant has since restarted, but both South East Water and local media say that when engineers tried to gradually refill the network, the same water quality issue reoccurred, forcing them to pause full restoration. ^[28]

Because the network must be refilled slowly to avoid bursts and airlocks in pipes, any relapse delays progress by many hours. South East Water has repeatedly stressed that it is “refilling the network slowly” to protect infrastructure, even as residents’ patience wears thin. ^[29]

The Drinking Water Inspectorate has confirmed it is investigating the incident, including how the chemical problem arose and what safeguards should be in place to prevent a repeat. ^[30]

Is the water safe to drink when it comes back?

Both South East Water and independent reporting emphasise that the issue is being treated as a water quality problem at the works, not a confirmed contamination of the drinking water currently in supply.

The company has said that water currently reaching taps does not need to be boiled, and that customers may see brown, white or cloudy water as supplies are restored. That discolouration, it says, is caused by naturally occurring deposits being disturbed in pipes as the system repressurises. ^[31]

Residents have been advised that:

Discoloured water is usually temporary
Running the tap for a while can help clear it
If in doubt, they should follow the latest guidance on South East Water’s AquAlerter service or contact the company directly ^[32]

The DWI investigation will look at whether water quality standards were met at all stages and what additional monitoring or controls may be needed.

Political and regulatory backlash

Local anger and calls for the CEO to quit

Frustration in Tunbridge Wells has rapidly become a national political issue.

Local Liberal Democrat MP Mike Martin has described the outage and the company’s response as “utterly disgraceful” and a “failure of leadership”. He has called for South East Water chief executive David Hinton to resign, pointing out that the town previously endured six days without water in 2022 and was assured lessons would be learned. ^[33]

Martin has highlighted cases of vulnerable people unable to access water, care homes struggling, and businesses losing substantial income, arguing that basic crisis planning and communication from the company have fallen far short of what residents were promised.

“Send in the army”

Lib Dem party leader Sir Ed Davey, visiting one of the bottled water stations, went further, calling the situation an “emergency” and urging the Government to deploy national resources – including the army – if necessary to support distribution and protect public health. ^[34]

He accused South East Water of failing to learn from previous outages and backed calls for the CEO to step down.

Government and regulators under pressure

Downing Street has said it expects South East Water to be “straining every sinew” to restore water supplies, while the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has called the disruption “unacceptable” and is in regular contact with the company about support for residents. ^[35]

Regulator Ofwat already has an enforcement case open into South East Water’s supply resilience, launched in November 2023 after repeated outages across its region. ^[36] The Tunbridge Wells crisis is likely to intensify scrutiny of the company’s performance, investment decisions and emergency planning.

More broadly, the incident comes as England’s water industry faces mounting criticism for both supply failures and sewage pollution, with campaigners and residents along the Thames pursuing legal action against other water firms over environmental and public health concerns. ^[37]

What support and compensation can customers expect?

Replacement water obligations

Under national rules, when mains supplies fail, water companies must provide at least 10 litres of water per person per day via bottled water, bowsers or standpipes, and maintain this until piped supplies are restored. ^[38]

South East Water’s deployment of tanker deliveries and bottled water stations in Tunbridge Wells is part of meeting that duty.

Guaranteed Standards Scheme (GSS) payments

In many cases, customers are entitled to compensation when water companies fail to meet minimum service standards. Under Ofwat’s Guaranteed Standards Scheme, payments are triggered if supplies are not restored within set time limits, unless the interruption is caused by events such as extreme weather. ^[39]

In July 2025, the UK government announced higher compensation levels, with potential payments of up to £2,000 for serious water service failures, including prolonged supply interruptions. ^[40]

South East Water has said that customers will not need to claim manually for the Tunbridge Wells incident; instead, it will calculate compensation automatically once the disruption is fully resolved. ^[41]

Customers who believe they have not received what they’re owed will still be able to raise complaints or seek advice from organisations such as Citizens Advice. ^[42]

What happens next?

As of 3 December 2025, there is no firm public deadline for when every home in Tunbridge Wells will have normal water service again. South East Water is still working to stabilise water quality and gradually refill the network without causing further bursts or airlocks. ^[43]

Over the coming days, key developments to watch include:

Restoration progress: How quickly the remaining ~14,000 homes get water back – and whether those with intermittent supplies experience further interruptions. ^[44]
DWI investigation findings: What the Drinking Water Inspectorate concludes about the handling of the faulty chemical batch and safeguards at Pembury. ^[45]
Regulatory action: Whether Ofwat’s existing enforcement case against South East Water leads to fines, stricter conditions or demands for accelerated investment in infrastructure and resilience. ^[46]
Leadership accountability: Whether mounting political pressure results in changes at the top of South East Water’s management. ^[47]