South West Water’s failure to fix leaks ‘putting customer supplies at risk’

With parts of region served by company in severe drought still, regulators give it six weeks to come up with action plan

Repeated failures by South West Water to tackle leaks are putting customers at higher risks of losing water supplies as parts of the region remain in severe drought, regulators have said.

In a warning to the privatised company that serves 1.8 million people across the south-west of England, the regulators said it had been failing to meet targets to reduce leaks and repair burst pipes for seven years.

5% above forecast … and increased since the previous year. Given the ongoing drought conditions, these shortcomings are placing customers at a greater level of risk.