Once upon a time, Royal Tunbridge Wells sold water as a miracle cure. Edward VII had it declared “Royal” because his mother, Queen Victoria, was one of many admirers of the spa town’s springs, which promised health and reassurance. Last week, the town was reminded how hollow promises can be when water stops being safe.

Around 24,000 local residents found themselves on a modern-day ration when the supply was cut off because of a disinfection problem at a water treatment works. People were queuing for bottled water, schools were disrupted for almost a week, GP surgeries and the hospital scrambled . A town was made to feel suddenly fragile by the thing that ought to be most mundane.

How does this happen in 2025? South East Water said the proximate cause was a “bad batch” of coagulant ch

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