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Phone icon How we'll contact you in an emergency

We'll be in touch in one (or more) of the following ways:

  • Updates via SMS or automated calls
  • Website updates via:
  • Social media updates via Facebook and X (formerly known as Twitter)
  • Door knocking (where appropriate)
  • Letter dropping
  • Local community hubs may be set up

What happens when we're made aware of an incident:

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Issue is reported

An issue is reported by a customer or is picked up in our network which notifies us there is a problem.

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Inspector investigates

An inspector is despatched to locate the issue whilst our office based teams look to determine the impact to customers.

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Relevant teams mobilised

We identify the issue and mobilise the right expertise to fix the problem and provide you with support

Graphic showing a burst pipe under a road

If possible, water is rerouted

Our experts will investigate if we can reroute water from another part of the network or use tankers to add water directly into our network, to bring you back into water if you don’t have any.

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If a burst, excavation begins

For everyone’s safety we’ll need to assess what’s underground. We may need to put in place traffic measures or let the emergency services know of road closures.

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Pipe repaired, ground restored

Digging to the leak may take time depending what other utilities are located near our pipe. The type of damage will influence how long the repair will be and what is needed to fix it.

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Water slowly returned to pipe

Once repaired we need to slowly re-fill the water pipe to ensure there’s not a surge of pressure which can cause a further burst.

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Water restored to homes

Once we're happy the pipe is repaired and coping under the water pressure we will start water flowing to homes again.

Our Codes of Practice