A year ago, South West Water launched an ambitious five-year, £3.2bn investment plan focused on the issues customers care about most - cleaner, more reliable water, fewer spills, healthier beaches and seas and support for households under pressure.
Over the last 12 months they have started to turn these plans into action and the benefits are starting to be felt across the region.
From fixing leaks in streets and building new stormwater storage tanks to offering more support to households who are struggling - South West Water is making a real difference for communities and the environment.
Tackling spills
Reducing sewage spills has been big focus for South West Water, as it works to become the first water company to meet the government’s target of achieving less than 10 spills per overflow, per year, by 2040.
Over the past year, they have started work on major projects in Dawlish, Sidmouth and Falmouth, to reduce spills and increase storage where it’s needed most.
In Dawlish, South West Water’s teams are installing two underground storm tanks, each with 2.2 million litres capacity to future-proof Dawlish’s wastewater network and help improve the local bathing waters.
Similarly in Sidmouth and Falmouth, storm tanks are being installed underground at The Ham and beneath the car park at Gyllngvase Beach to capture excess flows during heavy rainfall, holding them safely until there is capacity in the sewer network for full treatment.
Across the region, investing in smarter networks, extra storage and upgraded sewers has seen storm overflow spills reduce in the last year, with 20% fewer near bathing waters over the last five years.
Fixing leaks and improving resilience
In 2025, South West Water’s dedicated teams repaired more than 21,000 leaks - that’s around 58 repairs each day across the year!
Around two-thirds of these leaks were found proactively by South West Water’s teams thanks to new leak detection technology that can pick up noise from leaks hundreds of metres away, helping teams to spot and fix problems faster.
Work has also begun to upgrade water treatment works across the region, including Purton and Woodgreen Water Treatment Works, to make water supplies more reliable, especially during dry spells.
In addition, in 2025, the South West experienced a drier-than-average year. Throughout this period, South West Water regularly monitored water supplies as part of its normal operational management, ensuring there was enough water for customers.
On top of this, the company went further by sharing water-saving advice and offering free water-saving devices to customers, sending out more than three times as many as the previous year. These measures supported customers in using water efficiently throughout the year and contributed to the overall resilience of the regions' water supplies.
Supporting households
But this investment isn’t just about infrastructure - it’s about people.
In 2025, South West Water launched a £200m support package to help customers with their bills and extend the assistance already reaching 125,000 people across the South West.
The package of measures aims to reduce water poverty through discounted tariffs, payment support, water efficiency advice, benefits entitlement checks, and the proactive identification of customers in need.
The company is also investing in local communities through its £5m Better Futures programme - an initiative that enables community groups to promote well-being, education, and environmental resilience
Working with nature
Alongside engineering improvements, South West Water has been investing in nature-based solutions to protect the environment and support wildlife.
Over the past year, the company has planted 390,000 trees to combat climate change, smashing its original five-year target of 300,000.
They have also been working with farmers through their award-winning Upstream Thinking Programme. More than 2,000 farms covering over 144,000 hectares now taking part and helping find ways to reduce pollution before it reaches rivers.
Graham Murphy, South West Water’s Chief Engineering Officer, said: “This first year has been about getting projects moving and delivering changes people can actually see - whether that’s fewer leaks on their street or support with their bills.
“The projects we’re doing in Dawlish, Sidmouth, and Falmouth show what this work looks like on the ground. We still have more to do, but these early results show we’re heading in the right direction.”
With major projects now underway across Devon and Cornwall, the next four years will build on this progress - delivering cleaner rivers, safer beaches, more reliable water, and stronger support for customers across the South West.