Ofwat, the Environment Agency and the UK government warned that the company’s leakage failures increase the risk of customers losing supplies during drought. Their 26 October letter requires a plan for the government and regulators within 6 weeks.
South West Water has missed targets to reduce leaks and repair burst pipes for 7 years, Ofwat, the Environment Agency and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said in their joint letter. The Guardian disclosed the letter on 5 November. The signatories said leakage was 18.5% above forecast, had increased from the previous year and was putting customers at greater risk of losing supplies during the drought.
The company loses 113.5 million liters a day from its pipes and infrastructure. The letter said that was 5.7 million liters a day more than the previous year.
Severe drought affects about 325,000 people and thousands of businesses in Exeter and mid and east Devon. They face possible repeated interruptions in the coming weeks and months, not confirmed outages.
South West Water has asked households in the affected areas to use less water. The letter said meeting planned leakage reductions was important to the company’s reputation while it asks customers to save water. The signatories also said the leakage failures had reduced confidence in its ability to secure supplies and avoid emergency withdrawals from rivers that would cause environmental damage.
Devon county council leader Julian Brazil said continued leakage put rivers and wildlife at risk of prolonged damage and could leave customers and businesses facing restrictions.
Richard Stanbrook, South West Water’s drought program director, said the company was repairing leaks and moving water around its network to strengthen supplies and reduce losses. Recent rain had improved water resources, he said, but pressure remained significant and sustained rain in the right places was needed to replenish rivers and reservoirs.
The Guardian observed that the company did not acknowledge how the scale of its own leakage contributed to the risk of outages.
The warning followed the driest April–September period in more than a century. Wimbleball reservoir, which supplies South West Water customers in east and north Devon, Somerset and west Dorset, and Wessex Water customers in west Somerset, was at 16% of capacity in the 5 November report.
On 2 October, the Environment Agency granted South West Water a drought permit intended to conserve Wimbleball’s storage. It allows the company to pause its normal release into the River Haddeo only while releasing at least the same volume downstream to support water withdrawals from the River Exe for public supply. The permit includes conditions to protect the Haddeo, the Exe and their habitats and wildlife. The agency said the permit alone would not secure supplies and South West Water must continue to follow its drought plan.
The agency said on 8 October that South West Water had also applied to the environment department for a ban on nonessential water use by some businesses in mid Devon and parts of east Devon and Dorset. The permit runs until 28 February 2027 unless the company withdraws it earlier.
The Environment Agency said above-average winter rain could bring Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly out of drought and into a fragile recovery by the start of April 2027. It said the area could instead enter the traditionally dry months with a water deficit.
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