More households are without water as the number of homes affected by disruptions increases.
An update from South East Water this evening says that while some areas have seen supply return, a burst main in Tunbridge Wells and other issues have caused further problems.
David Lloyd gym and health club in Herne Bay says it is without water again
In Pennington Place, trouble arose, causing a small number of homes to have no water, but water was restored, and technicians are on site to repair the burst.
Earlier, the provider said supplies had returned to all customers in Herne Bay following days of disruption.
However, also this morning, the David Lloyd gym on the Altira Business Park in the town told its members that it was once again without water.
In an email, it said: “We would like to inform you that South East Water has temporarily suspended water supply to the local area once again.
“As a result, some of our club facilities and services are unfortunately affected.”
Outdoor and indoor pools are shut at the club, while some toilets are also off limits and water fountains are unavailable.
The Club Room restaurant is also only serving takeaway food and cannot provide coffee or protein drinks.
The outdoor swimming pool at David Lloyd gym and health club in Herne Bay is shut
South East Water says that while supplies have returned, some individual homes of businesses might have problems due to trapped air.
It comes as 611 homes in the Wraik Hill area near Whitstable are still without water.
In addition, there are 4,058 customers who may be experiencing low pressure or an intermittent supply in the Whitstable, Coxheath, Loose, Headcorn, Ulcombe, Benenden, Kemsing, Mereworth and Cranbrook areas.
This means that water will go on and off throughout the day, with no water or low pressure at peak times, particularly between 7am to 9am and 4pm to 7pm.
Water supply issues were first reported last weekend, with thousands of homes affected.
The crisis is said to have been triggered by soaring demand during the recent heatwave, which has placed huge pressure on supplies.
This morning, South East Water reiterated that supplies were flowing in Herne Bay when asked by KentOnline if there were any issues.
But warned that supplies remain low.
Queues earlier this week on Altira Business Park in Herne Bay as drivers tried to access a water bottle station
South East Water’s incident manager, Mike Court, said: “Drinking water supplies have now returned for customers across Kent, including those in Herne Bay and Whitstable, except for 611 customers in the Wraik Hill area.
“Although supply has now been restored to these customers, due to the network still recovering, we are monitoring levels in our drinking water storage tanks closely.
“We are currently fixing a burst main in the Pennington Place area of Tunbridge Wells which has caused a small number of households to have no water. However water has been restored to these customers and our technicians are on site to repair the burst.
“We are using our fleet of tankers to provide additional support to further aid recovery.
“It is possible that isolated, individual properties or businesses may be experiencing further problems due to air being trapped in the system. Where needed, we are sending technical support to anyone who requires assistance.
“Although our network is continuing to recover, levels of drinking water in our storage tanks are still low and we are asking customers to use water for essential purposes only – drinking, cooking, and hygiene.
“We are working hard to restore supplies to the 611 customers in the Wraik Hill area who are currently without water. This is because the drinking water storage tanks which serve these areas have reached a critical level.
“Customers in the Wincheap area of Canterbury who were experiencing no water yesterday (Saturday), due to a burst water main, are now back in supply as repairs were carried out overnight.
“There are 4,058 customers who may be experiencing low pressure or an intermittent supply during the day in the Whitstable, Coxheath, Loose, Headcorn, Ulcombe, Benenden, Kemsing, Mereworth and Cranbrook areas.
“This means water will go on and off throughout the day, with no water or low pressure at peak times, particularly between 7am to 9am and 4pm to 7pm.
The bottled water station at Altira Business Park in Herne Bay remains open
“We are sincerely sorry to our customers for the disruption to their water supply and know how frustrating it is, especially in hot weather.
“We are doing everything we can to get treated water into our drinking water storage tanks, including using our tankers to support the network and ensuring all available treatment works are running at full capacity.
“While tap water supplies have returned for most customers who have been impacted across Kent, some on higher ground, in particular, may still experience water supply issues as a result of the incredibly high demand during the recent hot weather.
“In areas where there has been a supply interruption – or where we believe issues may occur – we’re delivering bottled water to customers on our Priority Services Register.
Yesterday, Kent MP Sojan Joseph, from Ashford, wrote to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, asking the Secretary of State, Emma Reynolds, to take action, saying he has “lost all faith” in South East Water.
The Labour MP added: “They have repeatedly failed to improve standards for customers in my constituency and across Kent.
“South East Water have not invested in the necessary infrastructure and, as a result, has failed to ensure they do not face shortages at times of high demand – this time just after a couple of days of warm weather.”