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South East Water Faces Parliamentary Scrutiny Amid Kent Supply Shortages
About 17,000 homes in Kent and Sussex face ongoing outages due to burst pipes and leaks blamed on Storm Goretti, prompting emergency bottled-water distribution and political calls for SEW CEO resignation.
On January 14, 17,000 properties in Kent and Sussex remain without water for the fifth day, and MPs are pressing David Hinton, chief executive of South East Water, to resign amid criticism.
South East Water blamed Storm Goretti, recent cold weather and power cuts for burst pipes and widespread leaks that drained drinking-water storage tanks across Kent and Sussex.
SEW said supplies were restored to 16,000 properties across Kent and Sussex on Wednesday, while bottled-water stations operate in Tunbridge Wells, East Grinstead and Maidstone and 26 tankers boost supply.
Parliament has recalled David Hinton, chief executive of South East Water, and Chris Train, chair of South East Water, as Ofwat voiced concern and EFRA chairman Alistair Carmichael said MPs remain deeply sceptical.
An internal SEW inquiry is underway with non-executive director Caroline Sheridan due to report back, while local leaders and the Kent and Medway Resilience Forum have declared a major incident.