{"id":672191,"date":"2026-05-29T13:25:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T13:25:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/672191\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T13:25:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T13:25:08","slug":"record-breaking-heat-and-dry-spring-leave-parts-of-england-without-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/672191\/","title":{"rendered":"Record-Breaking Heat and Dry Spring Leave Parts of England Without Water"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Yann Tessier and Sam Tabahriti<\/p>\n

WHITSTABLE, England May 29 (Reuters) – Thousands \u2060of \u2060households in southeast England were left \u2060without water or facing low pressure during a record-breaking heatwave this week, as \u200bhigh demand followed a dry spring to expose the failings in Britain’s ageing infrastructure.<\/p>\n

The disruption affected over 20,000 people \u200cat its height, including around 8,000 \u200cleft without supply in the coastal town of Whitstable, South East Water’s incident manager Matthew Dean said, with \u2060people queuing to \u2060secure emergency water supplies on Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Britain, like much of Europe, has been \u200bhit by a heatwave in the last week, stoking demand for water, while well-below-average rainfall levels in March and April left some reservoirs under pressure, according to the Environment Agency.<\/p>\n

Anger has built in recent years over the lack of investment in \u200bnetworks by privatised water companies, which has led to regular sewage spills.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Whitstable, many businesses were forced \u2060to \u2060close during one of the \u2060busiest weeks in \u200bthe year, coinciding with a school holiday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“If you can’t wash your hands, you can’t make food,” dismayed \u200bcafe owner Mark Kidd said, \u2060noting that hotter parts of the world managed to maintain water supply.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Local resident George said he blamed local supplier South East Water, already under investigation by regulator Ofwat for outages in other parts of its network earlier this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I don’t want any of the water companies to start blaming either climate change or usage for their \u2060lack of investment,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

South East Water has apologised for the supply \u2060issues, saying exceptionally high temperatures had created very high demand. It said it was experiencing “low storage across our supply area” despite planning for the hotter temperatures.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The company, which supplies drinking water to around 2.3 million customers, said it had pumped 628 million litres on Wednesday – about 100 million above the seasonal average – reflecting the higher temperatures.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Britain, like France, recorded its hottest May day on record during the heatwave, with temperatures exceeding 34 degrees Celsius, according to the national weather service.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Experts say dry periods followed by short bursts of extreme heat are becoming more likely as global temperatures \u2060rise, making it harder for water companies to balance supply and demand.<\/p>\n

Water minister Emma Hardy said on Friday water companies must prepare for more frequent periods of extreme heat.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Britain’s independent Climate Change Committee has warned the country will face progressively hotter, drier summers and that adapting would require \u200baround \u00a311 billion ($14.76 billion) a year in investment.<\/p>\n

(Reporting by Yann Tessier in Whitstable \u200band Sam Tabahriti in London; Editing by Chiara Rodriquez)<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.<\/p>\n

Photos You Should See \u2013 April 2026<\/p>\n

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