What are we doing?

We are continuing to use tankers to support the network locally in the Windmill Hill and Knowle Hill areas.

These actions are having a positive impact and the ten affected properties in Windmill Hill and 20 properties in Knowle Hill remain in supply, albeit we’re aware of some isolated incidents of low pressure.

As we have previously stated, customers will experience a brief interruption to supplies at around 6pm daily when our tanker crew changes over. This is unfortunately unavoidable, but by making customers aware, they can pre-plan for this brief interruption each day.

In the event of an emergency, we may be required to utilise these tankers in a different way to best meet the emerging need, but we will continue to support and communicate with our customers in Ulcombe, as we fully acknowledge that the service they are receiving is not acceptable.

There are a small number of residential properties on Ulcombe Hill continuing to experience low pressure or temporary loss of water. We apologise unreservedly to these customers as we know this is not acceptable.

Unlike Windmill Hill and Knowle Hill, we are unable to use tankers here. Our engineering team has been exploring what practical measures can be put in place to remedy these longstanding issues.

Our colleagues at Waterlink, a department within South East Water, have now been in touch with customers to arrange a suitable time to visit their properties and carry out an individual assessment to determine a short-term solution.

Meanwhile, we are continuing to offer grab bags (for flushing of toilets) directly to the impacted customers, as well as continuing to deliver bottled water.

This will continue today, alongside deliveries of bottled water to residents living at Church Farm.

We are continuing to support the farm by tankering 30,000 litres of water daily directly to their onsite tank and this action reduces overall demand on the local drinking water network, which in turn has a benefit to all residents.

What else are we doing in the short and long term?

We’re also using pressure loggers to monitor the water pressures in the area, and have increased the number of loggers on the network to provide comprehensive data for the area over the coming weeks. Our technicians have now reviewed all valve operations locally to identify any local issues.

We’re also carrying out several further actions across Ulcombe and other parts of Kent, including working to reduce the amount of leakage across our network, and arranging the collection and recycling of plastic bottles following deliveries to the area.

Our Logistics Manager is in contact with Maidstone Borough Council to discuss our use of tankers in the affected areas, to ensure we work with them to allow clear access for refuse collections and we apologise for any inconvenience this has caused to residents and council teams.

We are continuing to explore longer-term solutions to ensure the area has a reliable supply of drinking water, with our modelling and engineering teams working hard to identify how we can resolve the problems. Weekly meetings are in place to ensure this work progresses as quickly as possible.

A public meeting has now been arranged for Thursday, 10 September from 7pm - 9pm at Ulcombe Village Hall. We are grateful for this opportunity for residents and stakeholders to meet with us in person to share their experiences, ask the questions they deserve answers to and hear how we are working hard to resolve these problems.

If you have specific points that you’d like to raise or questions you’d like answered at this meeting, please direct these to Patrick McGinley from Ulcombe Water Watch via email at patrick.mcginley1@btinternet.com. He has kindly agreed to collate these responses to ensure everybody has the opportunity to be heard.