WATER supplies to customers of South West Water (SWW) were being put at risk because the company was not doing enough to tackle leaks, industry regulator Ofwat has said in a no holds barred critique.

Ofwat managers jointly with the Environment Agency (EA) and Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) wrote to SWW to say: “We expect you to take the necessary action to address the issues identified and deliver the commitments set out in your plan.”

SWW was told it will now have to attend six-monthly progress meetings because of the ‘extent and persistence’ of issues identified, and enforcement action could be taken against it.

The regulators said SWW would be expected to demonstrate ‘credible and adequately resourced plans, together with tangible progress’ in reducing the risks.

They said the company’s water resources management plan (WRMP) was essential to maintaining resilient water supplies, protecting and enhancing the environment, and supporting sustainable growth.

The letter said: “Recent drought conditions have reinforced the importance of delivering planned actions and investments in a timely manner.

“On this basis, it is unacceptable that publication of your WRMP24 has been delayed.

“As you are aware, producing an WRMP is a statutory process.

“This is the seventh consecutive year South West Water has received a joint regulator letter.

“Where sufficient progress is not demonstrated, issues will be escalated to the Water Delivery Taskforce and the relevant regulators may consider further regulatory action, including investigation and, where appropriate, the use of statutory enforcement powers.

“Where appropriate, we will align this work with other ongoing regulatory engagement to ensure a co-ordinated and consistent approach.”

The regulators said they had reviewed a submission by SWW owner Pennon Group and identified ‘significant risks to security of supply and the environment’ which required prompt action.

They said water leakage in the SWW area was 18.5 per cent above the plan’s forecast and had become worse since last year.

The letter said: “Given the ongoing drought conditions, these shortcomings are placing customers at a greater level of risk.

“This is not acceptable.”

The regulators also pointed to a deterioration in the supply-demand balance relative to both last year and the current WRMP24.

They said: “While the company-level position remains in surplus, deficits have been reported in individual water resource zones, and raises concerns regarding the resilience of supplies during periods of drought and the company’s ability to maintain planned levels of service.”

SWW said it had repaired more than 23,000 leaks in the past year and was continuing to invest significantly in finding and fixing leaks.

A spokesperson said specially trained leak detection dogs and a range of technologies were being used to spot the leaks so they could quickly be repaired.

The regulators’ action comes as the giant Wimbleball Reservoir on Exmoor began to show signs of recovering from the current drought conditions.

Having fallen a fortnight ago to a record low of just 12.5 per cent capacity, it was now rising toward the 20 per cent mark.