No water supply for four days in West Sussex: a reader’s perspective

Areas have been affected between Crawley and Tunbridge Wells, including Balcombe and Crowborough but not including Haywards Heath and East Grinstead.

That means no toilets can be flushed, no washing of people nor dishes and no cleaning.

Water is sometimes rationed, especially in the summer but it is rarely completely cut off.

When it first stopped and didn’t come back on, I expected some sort of barrels or a standpipe at Turners Hill in the village where I live. Instead there is a drive (for those who can) into East Grinstead to à water station to collect six bottles per household per day.

At a recommended 1.5-2 litres per person per day, this is drinking water, with a little extra for maybe cooking food. There is nothing for sanitation, nor hygiene. Sometimes there are long queues, sometimes no water left. And with thousands of homes involved it’s not surprising that Tesco and Lidl in Crawley had no bottled water left.

Of course, it’s very hard to fit this in while working and it’s worse for businesses in the run up to Christmas. In our village the hairdresser cannot function nor can our washing and ironing service. Then there are other businesses. Nothing food-orientated can open as they cannot clean or wash down surfaces. I’ll also simply mention – washing hands and the toilets.

We haven’t had a good freeze for several years. But we do know about climate change. The water companies simply have not invested enough money, time and thought into overhauling their infrastructure.

How on earth can they assume that a few bottles of water is sufficient replacement?