Managers at one of Kent’s top restaurants and a council leader have laid into water company chiefs following almost a week of water outages.
Cllr Alan Baldock, leader of Canterbury City Council, branded South East Water “a failure” with hundreds of homes in the Whitstable area still facing low pressure.
Meanwhile, bosses at The Sportsman – a Michelin-starred eatery in nearby Seasalter – has been cut off and forced to close in what they called “the most stressful week ever”.
It is now the sixth day of continuous supply issues, with problems having started on Tuesday (July 1) – the hottest day of the year when temperatures soared to more than 30C.
Some 500 properties in both Whitstable and Seasalter have little to no running water.
Issues also returned to residents living in the Collard Close area in Herne Bay today – after the town also was cut-off during Tuesday evening, although supplies were restored for most the following morning.
In an open letter to David Hinton, chief executive of South East Water, Cllr Baldock (Lab) said this afternoon it has “seriously disrupted families” while putting vulnerable people at risk.
was posted on its Facebook page this afternoon (July 6).
He added it had sparked “concerns” for the health of animals and “deeply damaged” businesses.
“Yet more disruption to water supplies in our district,” the letter reads.
“For the third time this year, twice privately and this time openly, we have felt compelled to write to you to express our deep disgust and frustration at the prolonged disruption to water supplies in our district.
“The disruption does not seem to be confined to one area or one season.
“Canterbury and Herne Bay suffered in the freezing winter months. Herne Bay, Dargate, Yorkletts and Seasalter have suffered during the hottest days of the year.”
The authority has been forced to close public toilets in Faversham Road, Seasalter, due to it being a “public health hazard” without water.
The council said it is committed to recycling all of the plastic bottles distributed by South East Water’s “failure” – hitting taxpayers harder due to extra refuse collection vehicles needed.
The letter went on to say: “We call on you to foot that bill – where should we send the invoice?
“Yet again, despite previous promises, in the early days of this incident, you did not pick up the phone to keep us updated on the latest situation.
“You know, because we’ve made the point repeatedly in our previous correspondence, our officers and councillors are always on hand to advise you on the best locations for bottled water stations.
“Your choice created jams at the Altira Park in Herne Bay.
“Your choice caused queues and saw patients unable to access the Estuary View Medical Centre, which includes an urgent treatment centre.
“Liaising with doctors there would have been a huge help.
“Your choice of Sainsbury’s in Chestfield was a huge distance from Dargate, Yorkletts and Seasalter, especially if you do not drive.
“A second bottled water station was needed. We are glad you, eventually, heeded our advice. But it should not have taken so long.
“This is simply not good enough and your organisation needs to do much better.”
The Sportsman, a gastro pub in Faversham Road, Seasalter, said it has been the “most stressful week ever”.
“We know how frustrating and distressing this is and are very aware it’s taking far longer to resolve than expected.”
The establishment has had to close several times over the last few days due to the intermittent supply and claims it had only received 24 bottles from the deliveries carried out by the water company.
It added: “Starting the day with water, prepping all the food only to have it cut off without warning just before we’re due to open has been beyond frustrating, not just for us but for our customers and staff too.
“Having to disappoint hundreds of people by cancelling their tables at the last minute when it’s been untenable to open has been heartbreaking.
“So huge apologies to anyone this has happened to. We hope to make it up to you if you come and see us again.
“Thanks and praise to our team who have coped brilliantly with what has been an extremely challenging working situation both physically and mentally.”
In an update earlier today, South East Water stated that it was unlikely that water would return until “tomorrow at the earliest”.
It added: “Our teams have been making further changes to the way water flows around the area to try and restore supplies in Seasalter.
“As a result, supplies are slowly returning to customers in this area, but they may be intermittent and the water pressure lower than normal.
“We are so very sorry that some customers in Whitstable continue to experience no water or low pressure today while work to release trapped air from the pipeline between Canterbury and Whitstable continues.
“We know how frustrating and distressing this is and are very aware it’s taking far longer to resolve than expected.
“As mentioned previously, we’re doing a lot of work behind-the-scenes to try and release the air from a key pipeline which links two drinking water storage tanks which are just outside Canterbury and Whitstable.
“This work is proving to be more time-consuming and challenging than expected.
“We’ve been continuously tanking water into our storage tank near Whitstable to fill it up, but it’s not yet full enough to release the water to you and maintain a consistent supply while work continues.
“We are making some further changes to the way water flows around the area to try and restore supplies in the Seasalter area, although pressure may be lower than normal. This has to be done very gradually to avoid leaks and bursts.”
Bottled water stations remain open until 9pm at Sainsbury’s in Reeves Way, Whitstable and at 129C Faversham Road in Seasalter.
The council says it will be writing to regulator Ofwat and Emma Hardy, Minister of State for Water and Flooding, asking for appropriate action against the utility company.
