It’s not over until it’s over: Tunbridge Wells prepares for further water outages

Fresh from the plague of no water for the best part of a week and problematic supplies since early November, Tunbridge Wells faces a new plague caused by South East Water: it is drowning in plastic.

With over 6,000 homes suffering total water loss this past week, residents had to rely on bottled water for basic needs, including eating, washing, flushing toilets, feeding pets, washing up, and cleaning their homes. Flushing a toilet required 5-6 litres (approximately three bottles). Doing the dishes, at least two.

Now every impacted home is overwhelmed by the detritus of this unavoidable use of bottles. Plastic bottles are swamping bins across the town.

Vice-chair of Dry Wells Action, a community group set up to fight for a resilient water supply to the town, Marianne Amos, said: “A couple of neighbours joined me in counting our empty water bottles. We were so far into the hundreds, we lost count. But, we did score a goal by filling it with empties as testament to the incompetence of South East Water.

“The realisation that we’d had to use so much water was enormously shocking and once again highlights the fact that whilst we may have some piped water again now, unless someone acts to regulate our failing water company, there is a real risk this will happen again soon.”

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council will have to collect large volumes of plastic bottles in the coming weeks, having played a key role in an emergency task force of agencies forcing South East Water to implement an emergency recovery plan.

Jo Dobson, also Vice-Chair of Dry Wells Action, said the removal of bottled water supplies does not signal the end of the crisis. “We are urging every resident in Tunbridge Wells to take three simple but important steps. First, cancel your direct debit to South East Water. A company that has failed us so profoundly should not enjoy automatic access to residents’ bank accounts. Second, prepare for further outages by storing bottled water and planning how your household will cope if supply is disrupted again. Finally, get active. Join us in campaigning for proper regulatory enforcement and accountability for this appalling failure. There are several ways to get involved, outlined below.

• Come along to our first Water Crisis public meeting on Wednesday 21 January at 7:30pm at Old Auction Rooms in Tunbridge Wells. To help us plan and manage numbers, please register your place here.

  
  

• Email us at info@drywellsaction.com with ways you would like to support us.

  
  

• Visit www.drywellsaction.com for ways to make your voice heard.