More than 31,000 East Sussex households left without water for third day in a row
A burst mains pipe has left tens of thousands of residents in East Sussex without water for the third day running.
More than 31,000 households in Hastings and St Leonards-on-Sea have been affected by large-scale disruption to the May Bank Holiday weekend after a vital 19-inch pipe burst on Thursday morning, a Southern Water spokesman confirmed on Saturday.
Southern Water replaced the pipe but said it is waiting for the reservoir to refill until the supply to homes will resume. It is hoped this will be sometime on Sunday, they told The Telegraph.
One major attraction this weekend is the four-day Jack in the Green festival, which attracts thousands of visitors from across the country.
The water shortage has resulted in some scheduled events being cancelled, including the ceilidh dance at the White Rock Theatre in Hastings.
Portaloos have been set up in the centre of Hastings to be used by shop staff and customers. And Southern Water has set up three water stations at supermarkets on the outskirts of Hastings and St Leonards to distribute bottles, leading to long queues of traffic.
Those unable to travel including elderly and disabled residents have reportedly been left without help.
A fourth water station was set to be opened later this weekend near the centre of Hastings.
Mark Pearce, 55, a retired teacher living in Hastings, has been without water since Thursday night and has no means of transport to reach one of the water stations.
He told The Telegraph: “My friend took mercy on me and queued up at the Asda. She received 12 two-litre bottles of water and distributed them among a few of us. I have eight litres for the weekend.”
He added: “Bank Holiday is a big thing for Hastings. I’ve been in Hastings for 20 years. We get lots of tourists here, there’s a big procession, but cafes and businesses can’t open.”
Lesley Arshad, a disabled resident, said she has been left off Southern Water’s priority list, which means households receive water deliveries.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, she said she had been told last year she was a priority household but when she called on Thursday to request emergency water, she was told that was no longer the case.
Ms Arshad said: “I rang the customer service representative and he said that I wasn’t on the list and I said that I had received a letter from Southern Water to say that I was. He said, ‘Oh it’s probably because you live in a flat’ but he said I would get some water but not sure when I would get it.”
Helena Dollimore, the Labour MP for Hastings and Rye, wrote to Southern Water on Friday saying: “The water outage is continuing to cause major disruption and chaos for residents across Hastings and St Leonards, with traffic gridlock, schools closing and people’s livelihoods affected.
“Southern Water must do better and learn from the lessons of the Rye water crisis last year.”
Jack the Green organisers said in a statement: “We will do our very best to run what we can but please be prepared for short notice changes and even cancellations. We are so sorry for this, which as you will understand is completely outside our control.”
