Water reservoirs in the South West are far below the levels which are expected at this time of year. 

South West Water have reported that only three of the five water reservoirs in are area are at full capacity, as is expected at this time of year. Burrator, Stithians, and Wimbleball are all at maximum capacity. However, our two largest reserves, Colliford and Roadford remain below 70% their fullest. 

SWW graph showing current levels at Burrator
SWW graph showing current levels at Burrator (South West Water)

SWW graph showing current levels at Stithians
Stithians is one of the reservoirs which is almost at its fullest (South West Water)

SWW graph showing current levels at Wimbleball
Despite being one of the larger reservoirs, Wimbleball remains at maximum capacity (South West Water)

SWW graph showing current levels at Colliford
Despite efforts and recent weather, levels at Colliford remain low (South West Water)

SWW graph showing current levels at Roadford
One of the largest reservoirs, Roadford is still far below water levels which are expected this time of year (South West Water)

Following recent heavy showers and even weather warnings for rainfall, many of us would have thought it likely that hosepipe bans were a thing of the past, however, with reservoir levels far lower than expected, things don’t look likely to change any time soon. 

South West Water Explain: “We've experienced an unusually long dry period since last spring, with the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Cornwall last summer and our reservoirs across the region have a long way to recover and achieve our required levels going into the summer months.

“Reservoir levels are recovering across Cornwall and Devon, but remain 17% lower than this time last year.

“Overall reservoir resources are stable at 73% for the region, but levels are much lower in Cornwall which was particularly affected by record-high demand and dry weather in 2022.”

However, the supplier also say that efforts to save water are not going unnoticed: “Our customers' actions to save water really are making an extraordinary difference to the rate of this recovery.

“We are grateful to all our customers and communities for their efforts in reducing daily water usage over the drought period. We must ask you to keep saving water where you can, so that our water resources can recover sufficiently for the spring and summer ahead.”

More information on reservoir levels can be found here.