Around 30,000 homes have been left without running water after thawing snow and ice caused a surge in burst pipes.
Residents in Kent and Sussex have been forced to turn to bottled water as providers scramble to restore supplies.
South East Water said as many as 15,000 properties had seen their running water disrupted as they faced a 300 per cent increase in the number of burst pipes than usual.
This included Tunbridge Wells and surrounding areas.
Meanwhile, Southern Water said properties in Kent were without running water. As many as 20,000 may have been impacted.
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In an update at 7am on Tuesday, the water company said: “We are deeply sorry for the distress and inconvenience that this incident is causing. Our teams worked through the night to fix the burst water main so that we can return supply to our customers.”
It added: “The repair is now complete, however it’s going to take time to get water flowing throughout the network and supply returns.”
Residents in Broadstairs, Manston, Margate, and Ramsgate woke up to no running water on Monday morning.
South East Water gave an update on Tuesday morning which said: “We’re still working hard to balance the demand for drinking water with supply following the cold snap.
“Some customers are experiencing intermittent water supplies and we’re so sorry for any disruption this may be causing.”
Bottled water stations have opened at a rugby club in Haywards Heath, a golf club in Crowborough and a leisure centre in Tonbridge.
Snow and ice have been rapidly melting as temperatures increased after days of wintry conditions in the UK.
Aviva, an insurance company, has urged people to watch out for water leaks as the weather becomes warmer and frozen pipes start to thaw.
South East Water said on Monday: “The rapid thaw of frozen pipes has increased leaks and bursts in our region by 300 per cent. This is causing the reservoir levels to drop quickly. Our teams are out working to repair these bursts so we can restore water supplies.”
Its chief executive officer, David Hinton, said: “We are very sorry to our customers who are without water but we are doing everything we can in this incredibly fast moving and challenging situation.
“This has resulted in many of our drinking water storage tanks, which hold treated water before it is pumped to customers’ taps, going empty or very low. Although we planned for this, we cannot predict when and where pipes will burst and are reacting as quickly as possible.”
He said teams were “working flat out” to find and fix leaks but urged customers to help by checking for leaks themselves.
A Southern Water spokesperson said on Tuesday: “We are sorry for the distress and inconvenience caused to our customers by the disruption to water supplies in Thanet.
