Thousands of people in a Kent town have been left without water for a week – with their local water company’s chief executive accused of being “missing in action”.
In Tunbridge Wells, several schools have been closed and neighbours forced to rely on one another after tens of thousands of households experienced issues with their water supply.
South East Water’s head of water quality, Dr Neil Hudson, has made several media appearances since the crisis began on November 29.
But chief executive David Hinton has faced fury for what many see as a failure to engage with the public throughout the ordeal.
Tens of thousands of households experienced issues with water supply since November 29
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Lib Dem MP for Tunbridge Wells Mike Martin said: “This is a public health crisis that requires leadership and communication.
“David Hinton should be leading and communicating and his complete absence from the public sphere – instead choosing to hide behind other executives at South East Water – is massively exacerbating the crisis.”
Mr Hinton has not publicly commented on the emergency, which has now raged on for a week.
South East Water told The Times that the chief executive will not be giving any interviews until the issues are resolved.
Mr Hinton has not publicly commented on the emergency
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SOUTH EAST WATER
According to a “boil water” notice that was issued on Wednesday, the crisis could last until December 13.
Mr Hinton was appointed to the role in 2020 after working at South East Water for 25 years.
Mr Martin said that he would be pushing for the chief executive to step down from his post after the crisis comes to an end.
The Lib Dem MP said: “Step number one is Dave Hinton needs to resign from South East Water. He must be held accountable.
“And then once we get the new CEO in, I’m going to be working with the central Government.”
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On Wednesday, a notice issued by South East Water read: “Our routine monitoring has shown your drinking water is not up to its usual high quality, and as a precautionary measure, we would like you to boil your water and once cooled, put it into a glass for drinking and brushing teeth.
“Use it too for washing food to be eaten raw, such as salad and fruit. Boiling water is the safest method of purification.”
Explaining the issues, Dr Hudson said: “After recharging our network in Tunbridge Wells and the surrounding areas slowly, we have seen a recurrence of the water quality issues that caused the initial shutdown of our water treatment works in Pembury,” he said.
“Because of this, we are currently unable to produce drinking water from the Pembury treatment works that meets the strict regulatory standards required for consumption.”
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey labelled the crisis a ‘public health emergency’
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HOUSE OF COMMONS
During Prime Minister’s Questions, Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey labelled the crisis a “public health emergency”.
He told the Commons: “Parents are queuing up for bottled water for their kids. Pensioners are relying on neighbours to fetch some water for them. Businesses have closed down; schools and GPs have been forced to shut.
“South East Water said it will be sorted on Monday, then yesterday and today it still hasn’t been sorted. So, will the Prime Minister convene Cobra? Does he agree that it’s time for him to get a grip of this crisis, so it is sorted?”
“I do think the Government will need to do more because South East Water have failed so badly.”
The Prime Minister called the ordeal as “shocking”, adding that he was aware that South East Water had consistently failed to meet its promises of restoring a safe supply of water.