South East Water Chief and Drinking water regulator to face MPs over Tunbridge Wells supply failure
After tens of thousands of residents in Kent were left without drinking water for 14 days due to failures at a treatment centre, David Hinton, the Chief Executive of the water company that oversaw the problems, will face questions from MPs on the EFRA Committee.
South East Water told residents in Tunbridge Wells and surrounding villages on 29 November that water from their taps was unsuitable for drinking, bathing, giving to pets or brushing teeth.
The safety notice remained in place until 12 December when treatment works resumed and the risk of contamination ended.
Hinton was invited to attend the evidence session by Committee Chair Alistair Carmichael MP as the incident unfolded.
Also appearing will be Marcus Rink, Chief Inspector of the Drinking Water Inspectorate, which launched an ongoing investigation on 4 December. The organisation warned South East Water in 2024 of a significant risk of failure at the Pembury treatment centre.
Meeting details
In this session, the witnesses are likely to be asked questions about the planning, resilience and capacity of the supplier’s infrastructure, as well as communications with the public and leadership.
The Committee is undertaking a long-term inquiry and last year published a report, Priorities for water sector reform. The Committee recently wrote to water companies about their approaches to recovering debts from vulnerable customers.