South West Water

📢 Reminder! 📢

Only 6 days to go until the reservoir run! Run for charity with 2.5k/5k/10k routes available. Entry price is £10 with all proceeds being donated to Devon Air Ambulance. Every runner will receive a personalised runner bib, a medal and a goodie bag! There are even awards for the top three finishers of each distance! 🥇 🥈 🥉

There are still a few spots remaining so sign up here: https://www.southwestwater.co.uk/our-south-west/community/roadford-run

Purple Gecko Events
South West Lakes Trust

We have 860 miles of coastline in the South West with 97% receiving a 'good' or 'excellent' bathing water quality rating, as determined by the Environment Agency, compared to just 28% in the 1990s 🌊

As extreme weather becomes more common, our teams are working harder than ever to ensure essential services are protected across the region 🌧️

Following the wettest February on record this year, weather experts say climate change is leading to more intense and frequent heavy rainfall events, meaning we are increasingly having to prepare for periods of bad weather 🌩️

Find out what we are doing to prepare👇

South West Water teams are going the extra mile as number of extreme weather events grows

What are storm overflows and why do we have them? 🌊

There has been a lot of attention around storm overflows in recent years and rightly customers and stakeholders have been calling for all water companies to reduce spills.

Our Head of Environmental Performance, Helen Dobby explains more.

Our Head of Environmental Performance explains what storm overflows are and why we have them

If you're finding it hard to pay your bill, we offer lots of support that might help. You don’t have to struggle on your own, and we don’t want you to.

https://www.southwestwater.co.uk/household/help-support/financial-support

What impacts water quality?

The Environment Agency assesses the reasons for our rivers not achieving good status. These assessments are published by the EA through their Catchment Data Explorer tool: https://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/

This pie chart below is a visualisation of the latest Environment Agency data relating to the South West River Basin which excludes river basins not within South West Water’s area of delivery.

A great cause we're proud to support👏

A huge thank you to South West Water for their extremely kind donation of £10,000 towards the work we do supporting women at our Sunflower Women’s Centre🤍🌻

Huge thank you to Sarah from SWW for visiting us for the cheque presentation!

South West Water

It's been great to show you around Kate Ewert - Cornwall Councillor!

Take a look at the work we've been doing at the treatment plant in St Germans 👇

We're heading to St Ives! 🏖️

On the 18th September we will be in , where there will be experts from around the business ready to talk about the things that matter to you, and answer any of your questions.

📅 Wednesday 18th September
⏰ 12-4pm
📍 St Ives RFC, St Ives, TR26 1ER

Sign up here - https://www.southwestwater.co.uk/roadshows

It's week! 🏫 🍎 ✏️ Throughout the last academic year, our Community Engagement Officer visited 76 schools across Devon and Cornwall to inspire over 6,000 schoolchildren with fun and engaging lessons.

We've helped children understand more about where their water comes from, the challenges in storing and treating it, and what small steps they can take at school and at home to conserve water and protect the environment.

Want to bring this program to your school? Book a session with our Education Officer: https://www.southwestwater.co.uk/our-south-west/education

16 year old Eliza Pritchard is sailing towards her dream of competing at the British Youth Sailing team this year, and maybe even the 2028 LA Olympics! 🌊

Based in Exmouth, Eliza started sailing when she was just 8 years old. Now 16 she rows, swims, paddle boards, kayaks and even races dinghies competitively but her true passion is sailing at top speeds around the South West coast in her Nacra 15 catamaran ⛵

Now with a £5,000 sponsorship from us backing her, Eliza will be able to cover part of the costs for the upkeep of her boat, be it new rigging, sails, safety equipment and any repairs needed to keep her speeding along the waves for the next year 🌊

Find out more - https://www.southwestwater.co.uk/about-us/latest-news/devon-teen-hopes-to-reach-olympic-dream-with-the-support-of-south-west-water

On the 12th September we are hosting a community event in Brixham. The event will include a panel of South West Water representatives, along with local MP Caroline Voaden and will be run by an independent chair.

We invite you to submit your questions in advance to help us give as many people as possible a fair opportunity to raise their points.

The event will be held at Scala Hall, Brixham Town Hall on Thursday 12th September from 6pm-7.30pm.

Register your interest and submit questions at www.southwestwater.co.uk/brixham-meeting



Learn more - https://www.southwestwater.co.uk/about-us/latest-news/south-west-water-invites-local-customers-businesses-and-local-mp-to-their-community-event-in-brixham

Brixham meeting | Service Updates | South West Water Join us for an evening with South West Water and Caroline Voaden MP – a panel answering your questions about Drinking Water Quality.

📣Exciting announcement! 📣 We are a hosting a second Reservoir Run on Sunday 15th September! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

Support Devon Air Ambulance with a scenic charity run. This family-friendly event features 2.5k, 5k, and 10k options along marked trails around Roadford Reservoir. Every penny of your entry fee (minus booking) will go to Devon Air Ambulance.
Just £10 gets you a personalised bib, medal, goodie bag, and a chance to win awards for the top three finishers in each category! 🥇

Limited spots available, register now - https://www.southwestwater.co.uk/our-south-west/community/roadford-run

Minimum age: 5 yrs (2.5k), 8 yrs (5k), 14 yrs (10k). Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.
South West Lakes Trust
Purple Gecko Events

Roadford run | South West Water Hot on the heels of our first ever reservoir run, we're excited to announce that our next charity reservoir run will be happening on Sunday 15th September 2024, in support of Devon Air Ambulance Trust. Choose your distance and take part in this unique event set in the grounds of the beautiful Roadfo...

It's 💧

Did you know that creating wet woodlands in run-off areas produces fantastic habitats for native wildlife to thrive in? 🐸 By capturing rainwater in this way it can even help to prevent flash run-off and reduce flood risks! 🌿 💦

Here you can see the amazing team from Cornwall Wildlife Trust doing just that!

What causes to operate? Storm overflows can be activated because of a wide variety of reasons.

- Increased demand
- Removals of natural drainage
- Climate change
- Groundwater and tidal infiltration
- Blockages from wet wipes, fats, oils and greases (FOG)
- Asset failures
- Illegal connections

Our teams are currently working to roll out solutions across our other top spilling sites as a priority, and then further afield as part of a planned £2.8bn investment over the next five years to deliver the improvements we all want to see.

Thanks for using less water during your visit this summer 🕶️🌻😎🌞

By being careful with your water use, you're helping protect this precious resource. Demand for water goes up dramatically in the summer months as we welcome you to the region. If the reservoir levels reduce, this can impact local wildlife as well as making hosepipe bans more likely in the future for local communities.

Here are a few easy ways to save water while you're here:

🚿 Take shorter showers
👔 Only run washing machines and dishwashers when they're full
💧 Fix any leaky taps

Every little bit helps, thank you! ☀️

Visitors | Save Water | South West Water While you’re here, there’s something you can do to help the local community and our beautiful environment.

We are passionate about supporting the communities we serve, and we are proud to be able to help Get Changed Theatre Company continue their important work.

Get Changed Theatre is a theatre company based in Okehampton that is committed to making theatre accessible to everyone. The grant will be used to fund activities that will ensure all members of the company can participate 🎭🌟

Get Changed Theatre receives £2,000 grant from competitive fund Get Changed Theatre, an Okehampton-based theatre company for those with learning disabilities, has received a grant from South West Water, which will go towards ensuring members have equal access to all activities.

Join our next customer roadshow in Newquay! 💧

On the 10th September we will be in Newquay, where there will be experts from around the business ready to talk about the things that matter to you, and answer any of your questions.

📅 Tuesday 10th September
⏰ 12-4pm
📍 Mount Wise Community Centre, Newquay, TR7 2BJ

Sign up here - https://www.southwestwater.co.uk/about-us/what-we-do/get-involved/roadshows

Happy ! We love seeing all your furry friends enjoying our beautiful reservoirs! 🐶 💧 South West Lakes Trust

Storm overflows are a vital part of our wastewater network. They act as safety valves, releasing excess rainwater and sewage into rivers or the sea during heavy storms. This helps to prevent flooding in homes and businesses.

Devon Live caught up with Helen Dobby, our Head of Environmental Performance here at South West Water, to answer all their questions 👇

Expert explains what storm overflows are and why we have them Helen Dobby, Head of Environmental Performance at South West Water, answers your questions

🛠️🚧 As our work in Exmouth continues, we have contingency plans in place as we know Storm Lilian is due to bring heavy rain to the region. Our teams are preparing for the impact the weather may have on our efforts and we have tankers available on standby if needed to ensure we are doing all we can to mitigate our impact to the environment.

For all updates visit: https://www.southwestwater.co.uk/household/help-support/in-your-area/service-updates/exmouth-incident

Last week we celebrated National Allotment Week by supporting one of the biggest allotment sites in the South West! 🌼🍅 🍏

Through the support of our Water Saving Community Fund, the Guys and Hylton Allotments in Exwick, Exeter, were able to purchase four additional IBC containers 💦 Each of these containers can hold 1000 litres of rainwater, meaning all the allotments can now benefit from an additional 4000 litres of harvested rainwater three to four times a year 🌧️