100,000 free water-saving devices help people across the South West reduce water usage

03rd May 2023

South West Water has provided over 100,000 free water-saving devices to help customers and businesses reduce their water usage and protect the region’s precious water supplies.

As pressure on the South West’s natural resources grows with increasing demand and more erratic weather patterns, the water company is urging everyone to change the way we think about water usage.

The company’s Save Every Drop campaign works to highlight simple everyday changes in behaviour, from turning the tap off when brushing your teeth to taking a shorter shower. These ordinary steps can have an extraordinary impact on reducing daily demand, cutting bills for those on a water meter, and helping to protect our natural environment.

Through Save Every Drop customers can claim a range of free water-saving devices from shower regulators and timers, to bufaloo strips and leaky loo detectors.

Helping to water gardens without a hosepipe, South West Water has provided over 25,000 waterbutts in 100-litre and 200-litre capacities – enough to store over 3.8 million litres of water when full.

The company is also working with tourists and businesses across the South West support them with recognising their role in protecting supplies and the beautiful environment they love to work in and visit.

With around 30% of reported leaks in the region occurring on private supplies, South West Water is also helping customers and businesses to detect leaks on their property, and will fix them, free of charge. 

Earlier this week, the water company extended its hosepipe ban, which has been in place in Cornwall and parts of North Devon since last year, to other parts of Devon.

The restrictions have been introduced to protect water supplies following lower than average levels of rainfall last year and throughout February, and South West Water is asking customers, businesses and visitors to the region to help by reducing all non-essential water usage.

South West Water’s Chief Customer and Digital Officer, Laura Flowerdew, said: “Our water resources have been put under immense pressure over the last year and we thank everyone for their support in saving water wherever they have been able to.

“Through our Save Every Drop campaign we are continuing to support customers, businesses and tourists to cut their water usage. This will help make sure there is enough water for everyone throughout the summer, whilst also protecting our beautiful environment across Devon and Cornwall. I encourage customers to visit our website to see what free water-saving support they could get.

“Meanwhile, we are playing our part by investing an additional £75 million this year in water resilience schemes to bring new water sources online, and finding and fixing three times more leaks than last year.”

Scott Mann, MP for North Cornwall, said “Since my first term as MP for North Cornwall I have called on suppliers to ensure measures are taken to save water. This is something which I had previously introduced in the House of Commons via my Bathing Waters Bill in 2018, when I put forward the case that there should be an obligation on companies to provide rainwater storage butts and develop attenuation ponds.

“I am pleased to learn that South West Water have distributed 100,000 free water-saving devices including water butts to residents in Cornwall to help save water and I would like to thank them for working with me to introduce this scheme.”

For top tips on saving water in the garden and the home, and to order free water-saving devices, visit www.southwestwater.co.uk/services/save-water