Residents in and around Yorkletts left with low pressure or no water for days on end
by
Adam Stevenson-Emmett
South East Water has made life hell for hundreds of vulnerable Whitstable residents this last week as the effects of the heatwave and water infrastructure unfit for purpose make themselves felt.
Customers in the area have been left with low pressure or no water for seven days now. In an update on its website, the water company claims that the issue is now fixed, but pressure issues remain for some.
On July 1, South East Water emailed residents instructing them to reduce their water usage. The email tells residents that they need to keep “water use to essential purposes only: drinking, washing and cooking”. But residents feel they were not given sufficient warning to adjust.
We spoke to Donna Truwhyte, who runs Enchanted Gardens, a pollinator-friendly nursery in Yorkletts. For the last week, she has had intermittent water access.
“I don’t understand how [the pipes are] in such poor condition that they keep breaking so badly,” she said. Donna believes if the water companies “allow a little dribble through every now and again, in their eyes [the time without water] goes back to zero at that point … it’s just been horrendous.”
She remembers 30 years of promises from water companies about building a new reservoir to keep up with demand, which have “droned on, it seems, for the entirety of my adult life”. There has been little progress, as water companies continue to pay dividends to shareholders rather than update their antiquated systems.
Donna says that she is now unwell as she has had to stand in the heat for hours at a time watering her nursery. Her plants are going to suffer if the situation persists.
Another resident, Sarah Claydon, who owns horses, said: “It’s been really stressful, not being able to shower, wash our clothes, flush our toilet.”
Sarah’s horses need to drink up to 150 litres a day in the hot weather: if they don’t drink enough water, they can get colic, and that can easily be fatal, she said. “I have to tell my 14-year-old daughter that her horse is sick because it’s got no water,’ she added.
Sarah says that despite South East Water’s statements, water deliveries have been random: “We’ve had 24 litres delivered twice. That’s it,” she said.
Kelly Arnott, whose son Miles is severely disabled, says the situation has been a nightmare. Unable to use the wetroom to bathe him, she’s had to resort to strip-washing him on the bed.
The lack of water is also potentially dangerous for her son, as she needs to use water to clean his medical equipment properly. She said that the outage is compromising his health.
Like Sarah, she has also experienced poor communication from the water company: “The communication, quite frankly, from South East Water has been appalling,” she said.
Green Party city and county councillor Stuart Heaver said: “The infrastructure for water in this area is completely inadequate … yet we’re still building houses — and we’re putting people in terrible situations.”
For Kelly, the message to South East Water is clear: “This is the worst I’ve ever seen it … It’s absolutely appalling and it’s unacceptable.”
Sarah would like to see honesty from senior management: “Tell us what the future holds, prepare us.”
This is a common story for people in Kent. Residents do not trust the water companies, which level blame at their customers rather than address the root of the problem: a lack of investment in their infrastructure.
Southern Water continues to pump excessive waste water into the sea while South East Water is unable to meet the clean water demands of the community.
Meanwhile, those who withhold payment for poor service are ordered to pay up.
Adam Stevenson-Emmett is a freelance journalist and press coordinator for the Canterbury District Green Party. He writes on the environment and culture more generally.
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