LOCAL MP Rachel Gilmour has blasted South West Water (SWW) for introducing a hosepipe ban as figures revealed it was losing 107.8 million litres of water per day due to leaks.

Analysis showed 39,347 million litres of water was lost every day due to leaks in 2024-25, equivalent to 43.1 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Mrs Gilmour spoke out as SWW introduced a hosepipe ban for residents in Devon and parts of West Somerset.

She said SWW needed to ‘urgently get its house in order’ by fixing the leaky infrastructure rather than simply imposing hosepipe bans on customers.

Last month, Mrs Gilmour challenged the company when children fell seriously ill after swimming in the River Exe.

She also demanded the Government include measures to reduce leaks in its upcoming Water (Special Measures) Bill, which would go a long way in improving the resilience of the water sector, and help to mitigate future shortages.

Mrs Gilmour said South West Water's leaks in 2024-25 were equivalent to 105.8 litres of water per customer, per day.

She said: “South West Water have got away with their grossly negligent handling of our water infrastructure for far too long, now these figures prove it.

“South West Water needs to urgently get its house in order.

“While local residents have to face a hosepipe ban, South West Water are taking them for a ride.

“They must stop rewarding their unaccountable bosses with exorbitant bonuses and start investing in fixing their infrastructure so we can avoid this happening time after time.

“The Government must immediately replace Ofwat with a powerful new regulator, in order to hold South West Water to account for its persistent failures.

“Under the mutual model of ownership that we are calling for, infrastructure investment would be a priority for water companies, with bills reinvested into stopping leaks and preventing sewage dumping.”