South East Water unveils £50m treatment works
South East WaterSouth East Water (SEW) says the completion of a £50m treatment works site is a "vital milestone" in boosting Kent's network resilience following a string of supply issues in the county.
About 24,000 properties lost their supply in the Tunbridge Wells area in November and December 2025, and in January taps ran dry for 30,000 businesses and homes across the region.
The company says the new "state-of-the-art" Butler Water Treatment Works in Aylesford will supply an extra 20 million litres into Maidstone every day, the equivalent to 250,000 bathtubs
SEW says the project addresses population growth in the area and minimises the impact of abstraction reductions required by the Environment Agency.
Paul Lonsdale, investment delivery director for SEW, said the new site was part of the company's "largest and most ambitious investment period to date".
"Butler Water Treatment Works will help balance our water resources in the county, boosting our infrastructure in areas that have seen loss of supply in recent years, securing water for customers now and for the future," he added.
Construction was completed in March and work was underway to plan a "crucial" new strategic pipeline that would help move the new water, when required, across Kent, SEW added.
The company said it was planning to lay about 35km (21.7 miles) of new water mains between Burham and Warren Street, and from Charing to Ashford, in order to connect the new site to reservoirs and pumping stations.
This was expected to be completed by 2030.
'Hard to be confident'
Debbie Walpole, owner of The George and Dragon pub in Headcorn, said she had to close completely in the past because of supply issues.
She said improvements "should have been done a long time ago".
"We're not equipped for the weather, the pipework is what it is, so unless they change the whole of the system it's still going to get hot, the pipes are still going to expand and we are still going to have leaks," she added.
"It's hard to be confident really because we're in 2026 now, it shouldn't be happening anyway, we pay a lot of money for our water."
In June, figures showed SEW was wasting more than 100 million litres of water per day through leakages.
Jack Atwood, who is a hairdresser in Headcorn, says "time will tell" if the new facility helps.
"I doubt by 2030 it will be any different or any better," he said.
