Anger over water leaks as hosepipe ban continues
BBCWater customers say a utility needs to take faster action to find and fix leaks after claims water was "running down the road for weeks" during from a leak in a Devon town.
"I'm being told I can't use a hosepipe and I'm being very careful with water, but this leak has been going on for around a month", said Dr Rebecca Hooker, who lives near the leak in Brixham.
South West Water has issued a hosepipe ban for Devon, Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and parts of Dorset and Somerset as hot and dry weather puts pressure on the South West's water supplies.
It said it had repaired the Brixham leak and doubled its leak detection teams since 2020 as part of its plan to halve leakage by 2050.
Gillian Fisher, who has lived in the area for 30 years, said: "It's unacceptable.
"I can't begin to imagine how many litres of water have been lost."
Raymond Gardner, who said he had reported the leak, said he understood the challenges maintaining the water network but said fixing leaks quickly was "very important".
South West Water said it repaired the leak following approval of the required traffic management permit.
The latest data showed 107 million litres of water a day (Ml/d) were lost due to leakage by South West Water in 2024/25, down from 118 Ml/d the year before.
The Consumer Council for Water (CCW) represents water customers across England and Wales and rates companies on their performance.
It rated South West Water as "weak" for annual leakage, in its 2025 Water Mark assessment.
Water regulator Ofwat said it expected all water companies to promptly address leaks "especially during this time of widespread drought".
It added plans were in place as part of the 2024 price review that incentivised companies to "detect leaks quickly, prioritise those losing the greatest volumes of water and minimise the time between detection and repair".
South West Water said: "In the last 12 months, we've repaired more than 26,700 leaks... including over 21,000 leaks on our network and more than 5,500 on customer supply pipes. That's around 76 leaks repaired every day.
"We've also seen a 12.5% increase in the number of leaks detected on our network in the last 12 months, driven by continued investment in leak detection technology and targeted campaigns to find and fix leaks as quickly as possible.
"As around 30% of the leaks we identify are associated with customer-owned pipework, we're supporting customers through assisted repairs and campaigns such as Leaky Loos to help identify and fix hidden leaks and reduce water waste."
It said it "continue to invest in highly sensitive detection equipment" and "leak detection dogs to help locate leaks in harder-to-reach areas".
The Department of Food and Rural Affairs said the government was securing water supplies for the future with a £104bn of private investment to fix leaking pipes and build nine new reservoirs.
It said reforms being planned would "establish a powerful new regulator... to put an end to water companies marking their own homework".
"Water companies need to go further and faster to reduce leaks and follow their drought plans to ensure supplies are not disrupted in even the driest of weather," it added.
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