Thousands of people in southern England are facing a Christmas without any water after a sudden shift in temperatures caused pipes to burst across the region.
Bottled water stations have been opened but South East Water, which serves Kent and Sussex, has been criticised for putting them too far away.
Some homes have seen their water supply come and go, which the company said is because more leaks have appeared as it pumps water back into the system.
Tunbridge Wells councillor Martin Brice said some have been placed up to 25 miles away from affected residents, while others said supplies ran out shortly after being delivered.
In an email, the water firm said it is hoping to soon open a station near the West Sussex villages of Handcross and Pease Pottage, where about 1,800 homes are still without running water, and there is a station at Beacon Academy in Crowborough, where there are around 1,000 homes still disconnected.
It said it has delivered bottled water to all vulnerable people on its and local authorities' registers.
Earlier this week, South East Water said melting snow and ice overnight on Sunday caused higher than normal burst pipes and water mains.
Incident Director Douglas Whitfield said: "Due to the snow and ice thawing rapidly overnight we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of burst water mains both on our supply pipes and on our customers' pipes across Kent and Sussex.
"This has resulted in an immediate increase in demand for water."
Many residents in south Hampshire are also without water because of burst pipes and have been told they can get bottles at three sites between Southampton and Eastleigh - South Winchester Park and Ride, East Winchester Park and Ride, and Places Leisure, Eastleigh.
Southern Water said it is "really sorry" for the disruption and spoke of "difficult decisions" when restricting access to people across Southampton, Eastleigh, Hedge End and Chandlers Ford.
In a statement, it said: "The recent heavy rain has caused the amount of sediment in the water we take from rivers to be higher than normal, which means our water treatment works are having to work harder to treat the water before it's supplied to customers.
"This combined with the increased number of leaks we've experienced since the recent freeze/thaw event has meant demand for water is outstripping the ability to keep taps running."
Some properties in North West England, including Manchester, have also been affected, with many being left with no water or poor pressure.
United Utilities said this morning: "We have identified a technical fault on our network, which we believe to be the cause of no water or poor pressure in your area."
Meanwhile a mother-of-five in East Sussex, who was without mains water from Monday morning until shortly before 11am on Thursday, said she had to wash her poorly children with washing up bowls filled with bottled water.
Kim, from Crowborough, who did not wish to share her second name, said she is "very grateful" her family of seven - which includes five children aged five to 17 - got help from friends and a local councillor, who delivered bottles to their home.
The 35-year-old freelance writer said: "I've had children with sickness bugs over the last few days and haven't been able to properly clean the house or flush the toilets.
"My son had a strip bath with a washing-up bowl of warm water because it was the only way I could clean him."
Kim said she read several social media updates from South East Water on when her water would return but the timings were pushed back.
She added: "My message to South East Water would be: I appreciate that this is a much bigger issue than you had perhaps anticipated but stop making excuses and just be honest."
Dave Moore, who has lived in Crowborough for 10 years, said his water returned at 3am on Thursday after four-and-a-half days.
The 62-year-old sales manager said: "They gave spurious timeframes as to when it would be back on. They advertised the fact that water was going to be available at Crowborough Golf Club two hours before the water was actually there, which meant everybody started queuing up in their cars, blocking the road and the water lorries couldn't get through, so the police were called out.
"The knock-on domino effect of this, hitting other services on a day when you've got ambulances on strike, nurses on strike, it was just adding to the pot of stupidity and unwanted action and it was making life very difficult for everybody.
"You could get no clear answer or accountability from South East Water so, quite rightly, people got angry.
"I'm going to work out the daily rate of what they're charging for that period of time and deduct four days - the service they haven't provided. Why would I pay them for not providing it?
"If enough people did that they would then feel a hit that's the equivalent to what people here had when they had to cancel Christmas with relatives. You wouldn't invite someone over if you haven't got any water."
