Boil Water Notice Lifted

South East Water announced at 3pm on Friday that its instruction to boil tap water before use had been lifted for customers in Tunbridge Wells.

The so-called "Boil water notice" had applied to 24,000 households and businesses who get their supply from the Pembury Water Treatment works.

South East Water said it had completed changes to the treatment process.

South East Water's Supply Director Douglas Whitfield (pictured below) said: “Tap water in Tunbridge Wells is safe to drink and be used for carrying out everyday tasks without being boiled.

Douglas Whitfield continued: “Our customers in Tunbridge Wells have had a very difficult and frustrating time since the end of November. We are very sorry for what has happened.

“Before tap water leaves any of our water treatment works, it goes through extensive testing. If it is not up to strict regulatory standards the water treatment works shuts down automatically. This is what happened on Saturday 29 November and Sunday 30 November at our facility in Pembury.

“For reasons we are continuing to investigate, the natural make-up of the water we abstract from the wells and springs around Pembury changed suddenly. It is very unusual for this to happen. It meant the way in which the raw water needed to be treated had to change and we tested a variety of solutions, whilst consulting industry experts.

“On Wednesday 3 December we took the decision to restart Pembury Water Treatment Works and pump water to customers, with the instruction to boil it before drinking, preparing food, or washing dishes. This decision was made so customers could flush toilets and carry out other day-to-day tasks.

"The water was chemically safe and all water sampling to date has shown no bacteria has been detected in this area. The boil water notice has been in place as a precaution because it had not met the very strict regulatory requirements in the final treatment process.

“We will now undertake a full review of what happened and how we responded. We will put actions in place to prevent a similar issue and make improvements to increase our resilience.

“We will also be putting in place compensation for our customers and do everything we can to rebuild the trust of the communities we serve.”

Mike Martin MP for Tunbridge Wells immediately made it clear he wanted businesses to receive more than the statutory compensation levels.

Mike Martin said on X (formerly Twitter): "Suffice it to say as well … the compensation offer to businesses is utterly derisory and in no way equates to the loss of income for businesses. The Minister for Water and I have been crystal clear throughout: businesses must be compensated well above the statutory minimum."

On Facebook, Mike Martin (pictured above) added: 

"My Lib Dem colleague and Chair of the Environment Committee, Alistair Carmichael MP, has summoned Hinton to answer for his and South East Water's poor handling of this crisis on Tuesday 6th January 2026. I urge all customers and business owners to share their experience of the crisis with the committee ahead of this session. You can do this simply by emailing a submission of evidence to efracom@parliament.uk with the subject line Submission of Evidence: Tunbridge Wells Water Crisis.

"The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) has also launched an investigation into South East Water and are gathering information to support their assessment of events. I also urge all customers and businesses to share their experiences with the DWI using the form attached to this post.

"Finally, OFWAT, the national water regulator, will be conducting their own investigation in the new year. I will be working with all three inquiries to ensure that they each have a clear picture of the crisis and the impact it has had on us all.

The information posted on Friday for customers on the South East Water website stated:

"We understand how incredibly difficult and disruptive this has been for everyone - especially in the lead up to Christmas - and the impact this has had on daily lives, families, and businesses.

"Now that the boil water notice has been lifted in your area, your water is safe to drink and use as you normally would. We have changed our treatment processes to meet strict standards and flushed the network, so you can be sure the water is safe.

"Now the boil water notice is lifted: Dispose of stored water - Pour away any water you had stored, either onto your garden or into a drain. If you've been away or not used a tap or shower - Please turn them on and let it run for a few minutes. This is because you may have water remaining in the pipes from when the boil water notice was in place, which will need to be flushed through first.

"You do not need to do this if you have been regularly using your taps and showers. If you notice discoloured water - Let your tap water run for a few minutes. Due to the disruption to pipes, water may appear discoloured.

"This is normal and happens when naturally-occurring deposits, which settle and build up within our network of mains over time, are disturbed.

"Tell your neighbours - Please also check with your neighbours to make sure they are aware the tap water is now safe to drink and no longer needs to be boiled. 

"Our bottled water stations are open today (Friday 12 December) and will close at 10pm.

"They will not reopen tomorrow (Saturday 13 December). Our customer care team and Water Direct are continuing to deliver bottled water to more than 3,000 customers registered on our Priority Services Register (PSR).

"Our final deliveries will be tomorrow, Saturday 13 December. From Sunday 14 December, we will no longer deliver bottled water as your tap water supply is safe to drink.

"If you have any remaining bottles of water, we suggest you store them at home and use them as needed.

"We are fully committed to compensating all customers fairly for this disruption. We abide by our Guaranteed Standards of Service (GSS) and details can be found here: southeastwater.co.uk/customerleaflets. We will be writing to household customers about the compensation we will be applying to their accounts.

"Customers will receive compensation automatically as a credit to their South East Water accounts and do not need to contact us.