Due to sustained high temperatures and near record levels of demand for treated drinking water across Kent, I am writing to update you that South East Water will be introducing a Temporary Use Ban (hosepipe restriction) for all customers in its’ Kent region.

We are doing this to ensure that the company can provide a consistent public water service for all its customers in the county. We will be announcing this publicly at 09:00 on Thursday 25 June. The ban will be legally enforced from 00:01 on Friday, 3 July, however we will be asking that all customers respect the restrictions immediately.

While raw water resources remain in a healthy position due to winter rainfall, demand has breached the triggers in the company’s approved Drought Plan. To safeguard essential supplies for hygiene, drinking and cooking, we are asking customers to follow these restrictions with immediate effect.

The factors that have affected this decision include:

• Unprecedented demand: A sustained heatwave following a dry spring (March to May saw just 36 per cent of normal rainfall) has pushed demand to near record levels.

• Infrastructure at capacity: We have produced an additional 100 million litres of water per day, equivalent to supplying three towns the size of Maidstone. Every available treatment works is operating at maximum capacity.

• Storage depletion: Water is currently being drawn from regional drinking water storage tanks faster than it can physically be treated and refilled.

• Geographic scope: While recent infrastructure upgrades in West Kent have successfully strengthened the Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge networks, this heatwave is impacting storage levels county-wide, requiring a blanket approach across Kent.

In preparation for this latest heatwave, we have taken, and continue to take several operational steps to manage this peak demand period and protect the network including:

• Maximising production: All treatment facilities and water sources were brought to full capacity, and storage tanks were filled to maximum levels ahead of the heatwave.

• Leak management: We have deployed additional field teams to rapidly locate and fix bursts and leaks across the network.

• Network optimisation: We are actively re-routing water through our grid to support the areas facing the highest demand.

Details of what the restrictions mean for our customers can be found on our website. We will communicate this fully through our website, emails, social media and undertake media interviews to ensure all customers are aware of the restrictions, which includes prohibiting the use of hosepipes and sprinklers for:

• Watering private gardens and allotments.

• Washing private motor vehicles, patios, paths, and private boats.

• Filling or maintaining domestic swimming pools, paddling pools, or hot tubs.