Residents in Whitstable, Kent, endured multi-day water outages during May’s heatwave while a nearby solar farm continued drawing water from the mains to clean its panels, prompting local frustration and controversy. South East Water attributed the supply interruptions to soaring demand amid hot weather, which caused reservoirs to reach critically low levels, but maintained that Cleve Hill Solar Park, located five miles away in Graveney, was permitted to use water from the network.

During the outage, which lasted more than three days for many households, the solar farm reportedly extracted up to 500 gallons daily to wash dust and dirt from roughly half a million panels. Locals raised concerns after noticing a mobile water tank filling from a roadside standpipe designated for the solar park’s use. Several residents confronted the vehicle’s driver, who confirmed the water was destined for the Cleve Hill site.

Approximately 15,000 people in Kent were affected by the outage as temperatures reached around 32 degrees Celsius. Many queued for emergency bottled water, while some local businesses experienced losses after being forced to close during what are typically busy seasonal periods. John Waller, manager of Seasalter Holiday Park, expressed disbelief at the situation, questioning why water was allocated to the solar farm rather than vulnerable residents in need.

Similarly, Chris and Katrina Goater, owners of The Four Horseshoes pub in Graveney, said the solar park’s water consumption became a prominent topic among patrons. “When you have all these people who can’t even brush their teeth, you just think, this isn’t right. Why are they being given priority?” Mr. Goater remarked.

South East Water confirmed that the solar farm operated under an official agreement permitting water use via the standpipe but said it is now reviewing options to reduce consumption. The utility’s head of business customer services, Rachel Baker, noted the volume used aligned with expectations for a site of this scale and emphasized ongoing discussions with the farm’s contractors about potential water savings.

The Cleve Hill Solar Park issued an apology and committed to completing its panel cleaning by the end of June, thanking the community for raising the concerns and acknowledging the impact.

This event adds to a series of recent supply failures experienced by South East Water, including a significant two-week outage affecting 24,000 homes in Tunbridge Wells last November and another affecting nearly 30,000 homes this January. Amid these challenges, the company’s former chief executive David Hinton stepped down last month, stating he “felt customers’ pain,” after receiving a substantial bonus the previous year.

The situation in Whitstable highlights ongoing tensions between infrastructure development and community water security, particularly during extreme weather conditions.