Bottled water is being delivered to some homes in Thanet towns following a power outage at Southern Water supply works last night (January 10).
UK Power Networks experienced a power outage which affected key Water Supply Works (WSW), including Selling WSW and Wingham WSW.
Both of these sites produce water that helps fill up the Fleete Reservoir in Manston.
With Kent already experiencing high water demand recently, the power outage, combined with Storm Goretti and the freeze/thaw weather, has had an impact on a number of Southern Water reservoir levels across the region.
Southern Water says customers in Thanet are not currently impacted, and taps are flowing as normal. However, as a precautionary measure, this morning they are starting to deliver bottled water to customers on the Priority Services Register who are supplied by the Fleete Reservoir.
Deliveries are taking place across 24 towns, including Ramsgate, Margate, Broadstairs, Birchington and Westgate-on-Sea.
A Southern Water spokesperson said: “We understand some Southern Water customers may be concerned about their water supply following recent severe weather and power outages in Kent. We want to reassure people that there is currently no loss of supply – all taps are flowing as normal.
“Events including Storm Goretti, freezing conditions and a power outage in parts of Kent have resulted in reduced levels in some of our drinking water storage reservoirs. While this increases the risk of supply issues in coming days, we are working around the clocck to maintain service.
“As well as moving water around our network and deploying tankers to keep supply stable, as a precaution we are also delivering bottled water to customers on our Priority Services Register in areas most at risk.
“We will continue to keep customers and stakeholders informed and provide website and social media updates as the situation evolves.”
Customers who need extra support can join the Priority Services Register: Priority Services Register – Southern Water
The outage follows another power cut on Thursday (January 8) at the Weatherlees treatment plant, leading to sewer outfall releases affecting beaches across Thanet.
The plant shut down caused Margate Pumping Station to stop transferring wastewater to prevent Weatherlees from flooding.
The Margate Pumping Station transfers wastewater (diluted sewage) from the Margate and Broadstairs areas to the Weatherlees Hill Wastewater Treatment Works (WTW) for treatment, using a large pipeline system for both normal flows and storm overflows, with some treated water also returning from Weatherlees to Margate for discharge.
The Weatherlees site is now running properly but a new part is needed to ensure the emergency generators kick in automatically.
A spokesperson said: “Weatherlees is operating at normal levels and all flows are being treated but to ensure resilience, the site is being kept manned as the stand-by generators cannot currently start automatically.
“Spare parts are being delivered to remove this problem.”
So who else had a power cut then?
All this preparation for global warming they forgot about freeze/thaw.
Not me in central margate
Unbelievable so theycate basically trying to cover Southen water when thanet all have sickness and e coil fr9m sewage water in our taps disgusting not acceptable
Where have you read that our drinking water is contaminated with e.coli?
J. Brown – that’s not what global heating is.
Also.. good excuse for Southern Water to dump some more raw sewage.. they could skip the middle man and just fill those bottles they’re delivering WITH sewage!
I live in Ramsgate and it was outside my door this morning.
Nice that they’re being thoughtful. Pity they were not thoughtful enough to knock my door and check which way my front door opens! They’d placed the bottles right in front of the door! I was trapped inside until a thoughtful neighbour was summoned and let me out and water bottles in! And extremely worrying that they’re anticipating disaster….
Christine Tongue – I could have guaranteed you would find something to moan about!
She moans about everything, not a particularly nice woman.
Here we go again Christine, always complaining! I know so many elderly disabled people who are so positive, a complete contrast to your behaviours. I enjoy engaging with them. Clearly you’re not superstitious anyway, as I have been previously told by a number of people, how it is unlucky to have a front door that opens out!! Not sure is that true or not but it’s something else for Christine to think about. Funny enough, back in the early 1990s I had a property where the front door opened out into the garden. There maybe something in it, as it wasn’t a positive time in my life!!
She is a depressing woman, most people would not make such an issue, I had to get help to bring mine in and was just grateful for the help.
How much more BS can the water companies come out with, British weather is historically documented by having long freezing winters and half decent summers. Our winters have improved dramatically in the last 40 years, and summers to, water issues are down to one reason only. Privatisation which has left the network under invested as larger dividends are paid to shareholders and big bonuses to ceo’s which know nothing about running such a network. Our politicians are as bad by offering peppercorn when things go wrong and meaningless costly public enquiries without any resolution and improvement. The ceo’s then resign with hefty redundancy payments. When incompetence should be rewarded by the sack with zero payments. This water shortfall is down to water leaks, lack of investment, gross negligence, poor maintenance and management by incompetent fat cats.the recently forecast of high winds is not a reason for pumping poo into our coastline or water levels, just a poor excuse.
This particular potential shortage is due to an electrical power failure which temporarily stopped the pumps.
We never had an interruption in supply.
Still waiting for mine, on priority list too, typical southern water