Southern Water has provided updates on the burst water main in the Hastings area, with new footage showing water gushing down a residential street as engineers work to stabilise supplies and restore the network.
The utility company said the water leak has caused intermittent loss of supply across parts of the town.
The fault, first detected in woodland north of Hastings in late December 2025, affected postcodes including TN34, TN35, TN37 and TN38.
Southern Water crews worked to isolate and repair the damaged section of pipe, with a replacement segment installed and the network gradually recharged to bring water back into service.
The company has previously described the failed pipe as “outworn”, noting that it had been flagged for replacement many years earlier but had remained in service.
Impacts to local residents
As repairs continued, some households still experienced very low pressure or short interruptions in supply over Christmas Day and in the days that followed.
Southern Water deployed bottled water stations and delivered supplies directly to customers on its Priority Services Register.
The company has said that while the main has been repaired and flows restored, reservoir levels remain low and the process of fully refilling storage and stabilising the network is ongoing.
As a result, short interruptions cannot yet be ruled out while system pressures normalised.
This is not the first time that Hastings has experienced issues with the water supply.
In May 2024, a major water main burst in woodland north of the town cut off water to around 31,000 homes for several days.
Residents reported very low pressure or no supply at all, with emergency bottled water distribution put in place.
The incident prompted widespread criticism of Southern Water and later led to compensation payments and regulatory scrutiny, with concerns raised about ageing infrastructure and lack of network resilience.
Conquest Hospital remains unaffected
The East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust released a statement that patient care has not been affected at Conquest Hospital due to the most recent burst in the water main.
The Trust has been in regular contact with Southern Water, and has contingency plans in place to ensure adequate water is supplied to services and that care is not disrupted while repairs are completed.
Next steps and ongoing work
The utility has since committed to a multi-million-pound investment programme to strengthen the water supply network around Hastings and reduce the risk of similar failures in the future.
Engineers continue to monitor the network and manage reservoir levels as the recharge process progresses.
Southern Water has urged customers to report any persistent issues and has closed temporary bottled water stations as supplies stabilise.
The company also continues engagement with local authorities and community representatives to coordinate its response and long-term resilience planning following recent supply interruptions.