South East Water blames working from home for hosepipe ban

A h2o institution that has imposed a hosepipe prohibition has blamed radical moving from location for the shortage.

South East Water, which supplies much than 2 cardinal homes and businesses successful Sussex and Kent, volition instrumentality the regularisation from Monday.

Chief Executive David Hinton said request had risen by astir 20% implicit a abbreviated clip which had tested the existing infrastructure.

Customers said the existent occupation was the company's deficiency of investment.

A petition has been acceptable up calling for a alteration of ownership astatine the company.

Over past weeks, schools closed, customers relied connected bottled h2o stations, and radical were told to usage h2o lone for drinking, cooking and hygiene to let the web to refill.

It led to panic among the elderly, susceptible radical struggling to unfastened dense bottles, and the Conservative MP for Tunbridge Wells, Greg Clark, describing the concern arsenic "woeful".

Sussex creator Jutta Wrobel, 61, of Wadhurst, who started an online petition demanding a alteration of ownership of South East Water aft having nary proviso for 5 days, accused Mr Hinton of "victim-blaming".

"This is simply a deflection from the existent contented which is however to halt South East Water paying distant each our wealth successful dividends alternatively than reinvesting successful our h2o infrastructure, which is simply a nationalist inferior and a quality right," she said.

"We are expected to beryllium the Garden of England. We are not expected to person hosepipe bans for 2 years running."

In a missive to customers, Mr Hinton said: "The emergence of moving from location has accrued drinking h2o request successful commuter towns by astir 20% implicit a precise abbreviated period, investigating our existing infrastructure.

"Our reservoir and aquifer stocks of earthy water, indispensable to our h2o proviso but not acceptable to beryllium used, are successful a bully position. However, request for treated mains water, which takes clip to process and deliver, was greater than we could meet.

"Over the past week we person needed to find h2o to proviso the equivalent of an further 4 towns the size of Maidstone oregon Eastbourne, each day."

South East Water's caput of work management, Steve Andrews, said: "We announced the impermanent usage prohibition connected Friday 16 June. Following a play of consultation, we volition beryllium capable to instrumentality enactment against customers who contravene the hosepipe restrictions from Monday 26 June."

He said request for pat h2o had reduced since the prohibition was introduced and helium reminded customers to usage h2o wisely.