The bathroom leak South West Water is fixing for free

That faint trickle at the back of your toilet bowl could be costing more than you think. A leaking loo can waste up to 400 litres of water a day, and right now South West Water is offering to fix it free of charge.

The offer is part of a wider push to cut water use across the region, as the South West sits in a critical phase of an exceptionally prolonged drought.

Why the drought isn’t over yet

Recent rainfall has been welcome. But it hasn’t taken the pressure off water supplies.

The Environment Agency has revealed that England still needs at least 120 per cent of average rainfall over the next six months to be considered out of drought by spring.

Kim Williams, Director of Water Resources for South West Water, says the company is continuing to offer practical advice, water efficiency support and free water-saving devices so customers and businesses can play their part in protecting the region’s most precious resource.

How common is a leaky loo?

More common than you might expect.

Kim said: “We are currently also encouraging customers to identify if they have a leaky loo, that can waste up to 400 litres of water a day, and we are offering to repair this free of charge at the moment.

“We are currently finding that 11 per cent of the homes we are visiting have one or more leaking toilet.”

You can find out how to check yours on South West Water’s check your toilet for leaks page.

What’s on offer for households

Homes can book efficiency visits, where the team provides and installs water-saving devices. And you don’t need a visit to get the kit. Any customer can order free water-saving products through the Get Water Fit online platform.

Kim said: “For households we deliver home efficiency visits as well as providing free water-saving products following a visit to the Get Water Fit online platform. During the visits we provide and install the devices. All customers whether visited or not can order water saving devices through Get Water Fit.”

Help for businesses

Businesses get their own efficiency visits, including water efficiency audits, leak checks and free water-saving devices.

Kim said: “Our business water efficiency programme is delivering practical results. By helping customers identify leaks, improve efficiency, offering water efficiency audits and install free water-saving devices, we’re reducing water use and helping businesses and customers lower their bills at the same time.

“We work with both homes and businesses to help reduce water use. For businesses we have our efficiency visits, but we also have a grant and innovation fund that allows us to support investment in long-term water saving actions by businesses across our region.”

Details of that fund are on the Water Efficiency Innovation Fund page.

What the visits have saved so far

The water efficiency team has completed 793 business water efficiency visits across the region since the start of the year. Since the summer, those visits have been targeted at businesses in the areas hit hardest by the drought.

More than 5,500 water-saving devices have been fitted, saving around 275,000 litres of water every day. Over 1,370 internal plumbing leaks have been repaired too, with estimated savings of more than 100,000 litres a day.

Those savings carry on all year round, not only during dry spells.

“These savings continue every day after a visit takes place,” Kim said, “which means the benefits are being felt long after the work has been completed.”