Business news and discussion on TalkFuse.
South West Water given six weeks to tackle rising leaks amid drought risk
Water regulators have warned South West Water that its repeated failure to reduce leaks is increasing the risk of customers losing supplies during severe drought. The company has six weeks to produce an action plan, as regulators say its performance has fallen short of leakage and burst-pipe targets for seven years.
South West Water serves 1.8 million people and loses 113.5 million litres a day, 5.7 million litres more than last year and 18.5% above forecast. Drought affects about 325,000 people in parts of Devon, where supplies could be cut in the coming weeks and months; the Wimbleball reservoir is at 16% capacity. Across England, about 82% of the country remains in drought, after the driest April to September in more than a century.
In short
- South West Water must submit a leakage action plan within six weeks.
- It loses 113.5 million litres of water each day.
- Drought puts supplies at risk for about 325,000 people in Devon.
Read the full article at the source →
Originally published by The Guardian as “South West Water’s failure to fix leaks ‘putting customer supplies at risk’”.