Residents in parts of East Sussex faced a Christmas Day without running water after a critical burst pipe led to severely depleted reserves, prompting fury from the local MP and emergency action from the supplier.
Christmas Disruption as Reservoir Runs Dry
The crisis began when a water main burst in woodland north of Hastings earlier in the week. While Southern Water worked to fix it, a subsequent short power outage at the Brede water supply works on Thursday critically affected levels at the Fairlight reservoir. The company confirmed the facility had reached its final reserves, leading to very low pressure or a complete loss of supply for customers, particularly those at higher elevations in postcode areas TN34, TN35, TN37 and TN38.
Southern Water stated that fewer than 100 customers had formally reported issues, but the impact was significant for those affected. The utility apologised for the disruption, especially on Christmas Day, and said it was doing all it could to restore supplies. A fleet of tankers was deployed to inject water directly into the network and the reservoir, with the company reporting gradual improvements.
A History of Failures and Political Anger
This is not an isolated incident for the area. Hastings residents endured a four-day outage in May 2024 after a different pipe burst—a pipe that had been flagged for replacement as far back as 2007. Southern Water's own records have previously listed multiple pipes in Hastings as "aged assets prone to failure".
Helena Dollimore, the Labour MP for Hastings and Rye, expressed her anger at the repeated failures. "Our town’s water infrastructure is not fit for purpose after years of neglect, and Southern Water must do better," she stated. Dollimore highlighted the major outage in May and a recent environmental incident where millions of plastic beads escaped a wastewater plant, demanding the company "get their act together."
Emergency Response and Ongoing Concerns
To support residents, Southern Water set up a bottled water station at the Pelham Place car park on Carlisle Parade, which remained open until 10pm on Christmas Day. The MP also pushed for extra supplies to be delivered to busy local pubs and restaurants.
While the supplier described the problems as "temporary", it urged customers who did have water to use it responsibly due to low reservoir levels and high seasonal demand. The event has cast a harsh spotlight on the state of the region's water infrastructure and the accountability of its privatised utility provider.
