Kent water shortages affect 18,000 homes amid heatwave

Thousands of residents across Kent are facing severe water supply disruptions as South East Water confirmed its storage reservoirs have reached critically low levels amidst a prolonged spell of hot weather. Approximately 18,000 households are experiencing intermittent supply or low pressure, with coastal communities including Whitstable, Herne Bay, and Ashford among the worst affected.

The utility company attributed the crisis to extremely high demand driven by record-breaking temperatures over the recent bank holiday weekend and into this week. On Tuesday alone, the company pumped 660 million litres of water to customers, more than 100 million litres above the daily average for this time of year. Matthew Dean, South East Water's head of operations control, stated that while teams are working to replenish reservoirs, some customers will continue to have intermittent supply until levels are restored. He advised residents who currently have water to set aside supplies for essential purposes like drinking, washing, and cooking.

In response to the outages, the company established bottled water distribution points at locations including a Sainsbury's in Whitstable and Challock...