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Story summary
- A water treatment failure in Kent left 24,000 households without drinking water for two weeks, starting November 30, 2025.
- The Drinking Water Inspectorate said the failure was predictable and stemmed from inadequate testing and a malfunctioning coagulant chemical.
- South East Water chief executive David Hinton attributed the failure to changes in raw water chemistry since 2020, citing climate change and insufficient infrastructure standards as contributing factors.
