At times of high rainfall the water flow into our treatment works currently hits levels well above capacity. So, by increasing storm storage capacity, we plan to reduce the number of times wastewater is discharged straight into water courses (rivers, sea etc) through storm overflows – down to 17.5 spills per year in any one location by 2030.

Flushing things that aren’t pee, paper or poo, and pouring fats, oils and grease down the sink block our sewers and can cause sewer flooding and pollution into the water courses. We’re cracking down on this behaviour. Through our Love Your Loo and Think Sink campaigns, we’re bringing more awareness to the responsibility everyone has to keep our rivers and bathing waters healthy.

Agricultural impacts alone account for 31% of the reasons for poor river health in our region. It’s incredibly important that we work closely with our farming community to improve run-off levels and help implement land management techniques that will help achieve higher quality rivers. Read more about our Upstream Thinking programme to find out how we’re doing it.

Did you know that since 1989 there’s been a 20% increase in the population in the South West? And over the last 15 years there’s been a 50% increase in tourism. This is increasing the demand on our assets, and in some places, the performance of our assets is being affected. Our new investment plans will increase the resilience of our network to these ever-increasing changes.

Some areas of the South West have seen incredible growth. This urban creep threatens water quality because it is reducing the amount of land available for water to naturally drain into. This means that more rainwater is entering our sewer network. Installing new surface-water sewers in key areas is a top priority for us, so that we can better manage the volume of wastewater entering our network.

The South West is particularly vulnerable to climate change, given its 860 miles of coastline. We’ve already seen the impacts with the 2022 Drought, alongside the hottest temperatures ever recorded in the region. But we’re confident that our investment has considered the risk of climate change, and will bring a new level of resilience and lower environmental impact to our operations.