Water boss rates response eight out of 10 despite two-week outage

South East Water chief David Hinton told MPs he would give the company's response an eight out of 10 after an outage that left about 24,000 homes and businesses in the Tunbridge Wells area without drinking water for two weeks; the boil-water notice was lifted on 12 December.

South East Water chief executive David Hinton told a parliamentary committee he would rate the company's response eight out of 10 after a recent outage. Around 24,000 homes and businesses in and around Tunbridge Wells were affected for about two weeks. Mr Hinton apologised and said the company mounted its largest-ever response. He cited post‑Covid lifestyle changes, new housing and extreme weather as pressures on supply. Key facts: - About 24,000 homes and businesses in the Tunbridge Wells area were without drinking water for roughly two weeks from the end of November. - The supply was initially shut down following a water quality issue at Pembury Water Treatment Works, and residents were later told to boil water before drinking. - The boil‑water notice was lifted on 12 December. - Before MPs, Mr Hinton said he would score the company's response eight out of 10, communication six out of 10 and prevention six out of 10, and he confirmed he received a £115,000 bonus last year on top of a £400,000 salary. Summary: The outage affected thousands of local properties and led to parliamentary questioning of the company's handling and leadership. Mr Hinton offered numeric assessments of the response, apologised, and pointed to increased demand and extreme weather as factors. Undetermined at this time.