Water regulator Ofwat has launched a formal investigation into South East Water (SEW) following a series of severe supply failures that have left tens of thousands of households and businesses across Kent and Sussex without drinking water for days on end.
Regulator Scrutinises Licence Breach
The investigation, announced on Thursday 15 January 2026, will examine whether the utility company breached its licence conditions by failing to meet customer service standards and provide adequate support to affected customers. This marks the regulator's first probe into a potential breach of its customer-focused licence condition.
Lynn Parker, Ofwat's senior director for enforcement, stated the last six weeks had been "miserable for businesses and households across Kent and Sussex, with repeated supply problems." She emphasised the investigation was necessary to determine if the company had fallen short of its obligations, particularly during the crucial festive period.
Ongoing Crisis and Mounting Pressure
The current crisis stems from incidents over the weekend of 10-11 January, which SEW attributed to power cuts and burst pipes caused by Storm Goretti. However, this follows a major outage in November and December that left approximately 24,000 properties in and around Tunbridge Wells without drinkable water for nearly two weeks.
In an update on Thursday, SEW reported that around 8,500 addresses remained without water, with some properties entering a sixth consecutive day without supply. The company's incident manager, Matthew Dean, confirmed that while supplies had been restored to 16,500 properties in East Grinstead, significant issues persisted.
Approximately 6,500 properties in Tunbridge Wells on a boosted system were still affected after storage tank levels dropped critically low. A new recovery plan was launched for the town, with the aim of restoring a consistent supply by Friday morning.
Widespread Impact and Official Response
The scale of the disruption has triggered a major incident declaration by Kent County Council and forced the closure of several schools. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer confirmed that ministers were holding emergency daily meetings to address the ongoing situation.
Consumer frustration is palpable. Mike Keil, Chief Executive of the Consumer Council for Water, said many customers now believe SEW "has lost its ability to provide a reliable water supply," leaving them feeling anxious and uncertain. He criticised the company's communication throughout the repeated failures.
SEW has apologised, with Matthew Dean expressing that the company was "very sorry" and understood the immense difficulty for customers. The firm has established six bottled water stations across the two counties and is providing regular updates on its website.
Separately, Ofwat is already conducting a review into SEW's supply resilience, assessing whether it has failed to develop and maintain an efficient system. This latest investigation into customer service failures adds further regulatory pressure on the beleaguered water supplier.
