An update on our Storm Overflow performance

Richard Price, Managing Director of Wastewater Services at South West Water said:
“We are one of only five companies in the industry to reduce spills compared to 2023. Our focus has been to reduce spills at beaches in the bathing season by 20% in the last five years as we continue to focus on what our customers care about. We have also been focused on the highest spilling sites from 2023 and have already removed ¾ of the top 20 sites.
This is part of our 15-year investment plan – and while change on this scale takes time, we are already seeing positive results.
We’re also proud to be an industry leader on data and transparency. We measure more spills, more often and therefore have highly accurate data.
This progress has been made despite 2023/24 being the wettest hydrological year on record, with exceptional rainfall and groundwater. Against this challenging backdrop, the reduction in spills shows our plan is working – this is not an excuse but is important context.
There is more to do and we are moving in the right direction driven by our determination to deliver on our customers' priorities.”