South West Water fixes 73 leaks a day across Cornwall

Walk past a patch of pavement that never quite dries out and there is a good chance something is happening beneath your feet. Multiply that patch by thousands of miles of pipe running under roads, fields and footpaths across Devon and Cornwall, and you get a sense of the job facing the region’s water company.

73 leaks a day, and counting

South West Water has repaired more than 26,700 leaks across Devon and Cornwall over the past 12 months, working out at roughly 73 leaks a day. The company says the effort is part of its ongoing work to tackle leakage and improve network resilience across the region.

Five heatwaves hit the South West over the summer, and the hot, dry weather that came with them put extra pressure on water resources. Against that backdrop, South West Water says finding and fixing leaks matters more than ever.

Over the past year, the company has detected 12.5% more leaks than before, kept investing in specialist leak detection technology and doubled the size of its leakage detection teams since 2020, helping it find and repair leaks more quickly across the region.

Finding leaks nobody can see

Most of the leaks causing the trouble are hidden underground, out of sight beneath roads, footpaths and fields, which makes them hard to spot without the right kit.

To track them down, South West Water’s leakage teams use acoustic monitoring technology, satellite imagery, drones and specially trained leak detection dogs. Once a leak turns up, it gets assessed on the volume of water being lost, the potential impact on customers, the environmental impact and any safety risks.

That assessment lets teams prioritise the repairs that make the biggest immediate difference, while more complex jobs get planned out safely and carefully.

When the leak is on your own property

Not every leak belongs to South West Water. Around 30% of the leaks the company identifies are associated with customer-owned pipework, the pipes that run from the boundary of a property into the home. In those cases, South West Water supports customers through repair schemes and water efficiency initiatives, helping identify and tackle leaks on private land.

Chris Kingscott, Supporting Active Leakage Control Project Officer from South West Water, said customers rightly expect the company to tackle leakage, particularly at a time when water resources are under increased pressure and people are being asked to use water wisely.

“That’s why reducing leakage remains one of our biggest priorities,” he said. “Over the last 12 months we’ve repaired more than 26,700 leaks across the region, while continuing to invest in new technology and specialist teams to help find hidden leaks faster and target repairs where they can make the biggest difference.”

Bigger teams, a bigger effort

The doubling of South West Water’s leakage detection teams since 2020 sits behind a lot of this year’s numbers. More people trained to read acoustic data, handle drones or work alongside the detection dogs means more leaks get caught and fixed before they turn into bigger problems.

“With the region experiencing five heatwaves this summer, water resources and our local natural environment are under additional pressure,” Chris added. “Finding and fixing leaks remains an important part of protecting water resources and the environment, alongside helping customers use water wisely and building a more resilient network for the future.”

Seventy three leaks fixed a day still leaves the question of how many are still out there, quietly keeping a patch of pavement wet long after the last rain.