South East Water has published its draft Drought Plan 2027–2032, which sets out the steps it would take during periods of drought or high demand to ensure it delivers a reliable drinking water supply for the essential needs of drinking, washing, cooking and cleaning.

It details what actions South East Water would take to conserve water and secure customers’ supplies, while balancing the needs of the environment, including:

• Moving water around South East Water’s network
• Fast-tracking schemes to increase water resources
• Working even harder to fix leaks
• Promoting sensible water use
• The introduction of temporary use ban restrictions - also known as hosepipe bans

To make sure the drinking water company’s plans are up-to-date, the actions are reviewed every five years and a draft document is published for consultation.

The updates include changes required by the new Drought Plan guidelines, including new actions to manage water resources in more severe drought events.

The company says over the next five years it is investing £2.1 billion to maintain supplies and build infrastructure resilience, including fixing leaks faster with smart technology, rolling out smart meters, and developing a new reservoir at Broad Oak near Canterbury.

Introducing the plan, South East Water said:

“However, we must also be prepared for extended periods of dry weather placing pressure on our resources and increasing the demand for water.”

The new draft Drought Plan outlines a flexible "toolbox" of short-term actions to manage severe shortages, incorporating lessons learned from the 2025 drought. Key updates include:

• Refined trigger framework: Updated water demand triggers that better reflect modern peak summer usage.
• Proactive, localised communication: Initiating targeted, area-specific water-saving campaigns much earlier in the year.
• Enhanced collaboration: Closer coordination with catchment partnerships, wildlife trusts, and local authorities to protect river health.
• Targeted support: Clearer restriction exemptions for vulnerable customers on our Priority Services Register (PSR) and increased rainwater-harvesting support for farmers and landowners.
• Extreme drought options: the addition of new options that would be implemented in a very severe drought situation to avoid the need for emergency measures

South East Water's Head of Water Resources, Nick Price, said:

"Water is our most precious resource and our supply area in the South East was identified by the Environment Agency as a water-stressed area nearly two decades ago.

“The drought of 2025 demonstrated how rapidly climate change and shifting post-pandemic demand patterns (such as changing working patterns) can strain our networks. During heatwaves, we now routinely see demand for drinking water increase by 20 to 30 per cent, the equivalent of adding a town the size of Maidstone or Eastbourne overnight on to our supply network.

“Our core challenge is maintaining a reliable supply to customers while protecting a highly sensitive local ecosystem that includes 196 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and other precious water dependent habitats including chalk streams.”

The water company is now seeking feedback on the draft Drought Plan -the consultation window is now open until 6 August 2026.

Click here to access the draft drought plan and supporting documrents