Three Green Councillors on Kent County Council have issued “Councillor Call for Action” (CCfA’s) to KCC’s Scrutiny committee over the water crisis facing the county, calling for:
- KCC to declare a Kent Water Supply Emergency,
- Invite South East Water + Southern Water to the 10th June Flood + Water Management committee,
- Request KCC Scrutiny committee investigate whether Kent’s water supply is fit for purpose, and
- Create a plan to rectify the situation if water supply in Kent is not fit for purpose.
A Councillor Call For Action is a rarely-used mechanism that empowers local councillors to refer to persistent problems in their divisions to a Scrutiny committee for resolution.
This follows recent water supply shortages in Ashford, Sevenoaks, Tankerton, Radfall, Maidstone, Charing, Herne Bay and Whitstable. In Whitstable residents have been told by South East Water at 13:31 (27/05) that “you will lose supply later today”, after supply in Tankerton was cut out last night (26/05). In Thanet, Southern Water are delivering water bottles to all Priority Service residents and 20 water tankers are pumping water directly into the network.
The move comes after the Reform Chair of KCC refused to allow debate on Kent’s water problems at the council meeting last week and follows significant and ongoing water outages across Kent this week.
The UK Government’s website shows when the new reservoirs in Kent will be built and the largest of these isn’t expected to be online until 2039.
QUOTES:
Cllr Rob Yates, representing a division in Thanet:
“We are not even in summer and we have 20 water tankers pumping water into our system. What are we going to do in mid-summer? Kent County Council leadership are too busy focusing on things that don’t matter. This is a real emergency and we need to find a solution.”
Cllr Stuart Heaver, representing a division in Whitstable:
“It is unbelievable that once again my residents are without water. This madness just gets worse and KCC have their head firmly buried in the arid sand. We need to find out if our water supply is fit for purpose and resolve this.”
Cllr Stuart Jeffery, representing a division in Maidstone:
“We are sick of the failures by these water companies. Once again we have residents relying on bottle water drops. We need action now.”
Quote from the David Lloyd gym in Herne Bay:
- “We would like to provide an update regarding the ongoing water shortage affecting Southeast Water and how this is impacting club operations.
Due to the current water supply disruption, several of our facilities are temporarily unavailable. To help manage water usage and maintain essential services, the following wet-side facilities will remain closed until further notice:
- * Indoor Pool
- * Outdoor Pool
- * All Spa Retreat facilities
- * All showers in the Male, Female, Family and Disabled changing rooms
- * Water fountains (currently not in operation)
- In addition, our Club Room will operate as takeaway only. The kitchen is currently closed and all drinks will be served in takeaway cups.
For toilet access, members may use the main Male and Female toilets located within the changing rooms. The Family Changing Room and Disabled Toilet at the bottom of the gym will remain operational. All other toilets throughout the facility will be closed until further notice.”
Take South East Water into public ownership NOW
Dear Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds and Ofwat CEO Chris Walters,
In January, up to 30,000 homes and businesses in Kent and Sussex lost access to water.
During the May heatwave, 18,000 households have suffered water supply issues.
South East Water (SEW) has spent more on dividends for shareholders in Australia and Canada than on fixing infrastructure to keep the taps on.
We call on you to remove South East Water’s licence immediately and take the company into public ownership.
https://weownit.org.uk/act-now/south-east-water-public-ownership
Important Statement from Canterbury District Green Group, Whitstable – 28 May 2026
Green Group councillors are appalled by the latest water supply failure by South East Water, which is inflicting misery on local residents and devastating local businesses.
We offer our sincere sympathy to the 14,000 homes and businesses currently affected in the Whitstable, Tankerton and Herne Bay areas. We are working hard to obtain up-to-date information from South East Water and push for a speedy return to normal service.
Clare Turnbull, co-leader of the Green Group and ward councillor for Gorrell, Whitstable, said: “We share the frustration of all local residents — this is the third major water supply outage in this district within a ten-month period, and it’s simply not acceptable.”
Andrew Harvey, co-leader of the Green Group and ward councillor for West Bay, said: “We cannot just ignore climate change and keep pushing for more mass housing development unless we have cast-iron assurances that local water infrastructure is robust and fit for purpose.”
Green councillors will continue calling for urgent action at Kent County Council and Canterbury City Council to tackle the fragility of local water infrastructure.
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