Sensemaker Why are thousands of homes in South East England without water?
Jan 19, 2026
Over 30,000 homes in South East England have been left without water for days, causing major disruptions to schools and businesses. Local residents express frustration over the unpredictable supply. The outages have caught parliamentary attention, with concerns about past service failures at South East Water. Experts discuss the negative impact of private equity ownership on maintenance and rising climate change challenges. Comparisons are made between water companies' responses, highlighting the need for investment and resilience.
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Rolling Outages Disrupt Daily Life
- Mark Leeds describes rolling, unpredictable outages that leave people prepping for water that may return then go off again.
- Families face repeated disruption, with children at home and work capacity reduced.
MP Reports Thousands Without Supply
- Mike Martin reports thousands of homes and multiple school closures from the outages in his constituency.
- He warns the impact spreads as more areas lose supply and schools remain shut.
Regulator Steps In After Repeated Failures
- South East Water has a history of failures including a boil-water notice affecting ~24,000 properties in November.
- Ofwat has opened an investigation that could lead to fines up to 10% of turnover.