South West reservoirs finally recovered after drought

Reservoirs levels in South West Water’s region have refilled to more than 90% capacity after dropping to record lows following the 2022 drought.

Roadford in Dartmoor is now boosted from 63% to 100% capacity, while Colliford Reservoir has returned to 96% from 55% this time last year.

South West was heavily impacted by the hot, dry summer in 2022 that left parts of Devon and Cornwall subject to a hosepipe ban for 14 months as demand outstripped supply. The company targeted investment of more than £75 million to boost resilience through new resources and encouraged customers living in the worst affected parts to use water efficiently.

David Harris, South West’s drought and resilience director, said: “As visitors arrived to the area in their millions, our reservoirs hit their lowest ever levels and we fought hard to protect river health.”

At their lowest point after the summer of 2022, Collingford fell below 30% capacity and required a localised water efficiency campaign in December 2022. At June 2023, they remained under capacity going into the summer. However, higher than average rainfall in the past year has helped restore levels, together with interventions by the company to boost supplies.

“We’ve invested record amounts to deliver our drought plan, and that plan is working,” Harris said. “While there’s no doubt that the wettest February on record has helped reservoir levels, our interventions and the hard work of our customers to reduce their water usage has combined to re-charge our biggest reservoirs ahead of the spring and summer months.”

South West committed to a target of this month (April) to restore its reservoir levels to above 90% storage capacity to ensure it can be resistant to periods of lower rainfall later this year.

It exceeded its goal ahead of the peak visitor season, which adds up to 10 million holiday makers to the customer base of 1.8 million.

The company has 23 reservoirs in Devon and Cornwall, including new storage sites added by converting former quarries in the past two years.

In Cornwall, the company increased storage capacity by 25%, while in Devon it boosted reserves by 12%.

Its longer term plans include bringing desalination plans online as it endeavours to increase resources by 45% across its supply area.

The entire country was impacted by the drought of 2022, with hospepipe bans imposed for the first time in a decade by seven companies.

Chair of the Environment Agency, Alan Lovell, told last month’s Waterwise conference that companies should not shy away from introducing usage restrictions. He said they were one of the few ways consumers see “the fragility of the system” and become conscious of their own usage and its impact on the environment.