Kent Pipe Burst Leaves Thousands Without Water Supply for Second Day

Water supply misery continued for up to 3,200 properties in Kent following a large pipe burst on Shipbourne Road. The incident, which caused water to gush out onto the street, left residents and businesses facing low pressure or completely dry taps over the weekend.

Emergency Repairs Underway on Shipbourne Road

The major leak originated at approximately 07:15 BST, initially affecting more than 2,500 customers before the impact scope widened, according to reports detailing the timeline of the outage. By Saturday afternoon, roughly 700 customers had their supplies restored, but crews faced significant hurdles as they dug down through concrete to locate and fix the main line.

South East Water incident manager Robert Anthony-Scorse noted that the repair work was very complex, leading the utility to warn that the fix would likely take until overnight. To manage the shortfall, the company altered the flow of water around its local network to redistribute supplies to additional properties.

Bottled Water Stations and Priority Support

To assist those left without running water during a stretch of prolonged hot and dry weather, South East Water established two dedicated bottled water distribution points. Sites opened at Sovereign Way East Car Park and the Tonbridge Farm Sports Centre on Darenth Avenue.

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Utility officials confirmed that support was directed specifically toward vulnerable populations.

Broader Pressure on South East Water

The latest infrastructure failure compounds a difficult operational period for the utility, which has faced severe scrutiny following earlier supply failures across Kent and Sussex. Between November and December, roughly 24,000 customers lost water or experienced low pressure, followed weeks later by up to 30,000 households facing similar disruptions.

Regulatory pressure has mounted alongside these service interruptions. Ofwat recently proposed fining the firm £22m over service issues that affected 286,000 people across Kent and Sussex between 2020 and 2023. John Halsall, who took over as the company’s new boss from David Hinton—whose compensation package included a salary of £400,000 and a £115,000 bonus in 2024—acknowledged that he faces a huge challenge in turning around the company’s performance and public reputation.